When Angels Cry
by PsychicDreams
Summary: Prequel to 'Time Dance' ...Second Story Written...
1. Prologue

Author's Notes:

I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the characters except the ones I made up. If you want to email me my address is: Guardian4@atlantic.net. Please enjoy my story. This may or may not correspond to "Time Dance". I set this before that time period. In actuality, this is when Queen Serenity is young and this is about her life. If you have a problem reading about anyone who isn't in the original series (Rei, Ami, Usagi…etc) then this story isn't for you.

Hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I had fun writing it.

Here is a list of all the current Senshi:

Sailor Mercury – Dalit 

Sailor Mars – Taila

Sailor Jupiter – Tiaret

Sailor Venus – Stella

Sailor Neptune - Caden

Sailor Uranus - Kitenis

Sailor Pluto – Jalae

Sailor Saturn – Tacy

Serenity (Usagi's mother) is named Serene or sometimes Sere for short. Serenity is just a title, in my opinion.

**"When Angels Cry"**

**By**

**PsychicDreams**

Tears fell as she clutched her wounded hand. Two red pinpricks dotted pale white fingertips.

"Serene, you must be more careful."

Little Serenity looked up at her mother. Older Serenity sat on the floor next to her daughter and ran her hands through her child's soft light purple hair. She smiled. It almost looked gray. Such an unusual color compared to her own dark blue. Then again, Serene's father's hair was white and this was the Royal Moon Family. Exotic hair colors seemed to run rampant.

Serene, or Sere for short, gave a soft sob and whispered an apology.

Older Serenity smiled. "Wait here while I get a bandage." Sere nodded and her mother left. She suddenly felt very bad. She had gotten all ready and then some unusual flowers had arrived while her mother had been doing her hair. It was said that they had come from the planet Mars. Even though her mother had told her to be careful, she hadn't listened. When Sere had touched the flowers, a sharp pain had lanced up her hand. The thorns had pricked her.

Sere quieted as she thought about the reason why she had gotten all ready. She was to meet her betrothed today. The Senshi had assured her she would like him, especially Taila. Taila, Sailor Mars, knew him best. He was, after all, her cousin. Sere racked her brain as she tried to remember his name. _That was it!_ _Ares_.__

"Sere?" asked a voice. She started. It was Caden, Sailor Neptune. Sere nodded for her to come in and all the Senshi entered, dressed in their fukus. They hardly wore dresses at all anymore.

Taila walked up to Sere. "Um…I don't know how to say this…" Serene suddenly got very nervous. "Ares would like…to meet you before the ceremony. If that's all right with you?" she asked hopefully.

To Sere, it looked like Taila wanted her to meet her cousin for his own sake as much as her own. The only problem was that she wasn't allowed to meet him until the ceremony. It just wasn't permitted. She looked at the other Senshi who kept their faces blank. This was her decision, it seemed.

"All right, but only if you can keep it quiet."

Taila's face lit up. "You bet, Sere," she said as she rushed out the door. Sere glanced at her friends.

"Was this a good idea?" she asked.

They could only shrug before the door burst open and Taila came running in again. She winked at Sere and herded the other Soldiers out and called in her cousin. Sere stood up and prepared herself.

A boy of seventeen walked in slowly. He had dark blond hair and an even darker complexion. His clothing and armor were black and red, like the colors of his planet. But his eyes were dark gold.

When Sere looked into Ares' eyes she couldn't break away. She caught her breath at what she saw in those eyes and what she knew was showing out of her own.

Her blue eyes seemed to go out of focus and his gold ones seemed to pierce inside her heart. Feelings she had never felt reared up inside of her. Love and lust intertwined, the feeling of wanting him in her arms, the feeling of wanting to feel his lips against hers. Her sixteen-year-old body was not accustomed to these feelings raging through her blood stream and she crumpled to the floor, her eyes still locked onto his.

Slowly, Ares came towards her and knelt so they were eye to eye. Little by little she reached a trembling hand and touched his cheek. His head turned into her palm, but his eyes never strayed from hers. Sere was shocked to feel him shaking under her gentle touch. Strangely, that gave her courage. She leaned forward a little and him as well. Her breathing had sped up a while ago and though she struggled with it, she couldn't bring it under control. His breathing seemed almost ragged.

It was at that moment that Ares moved back a little. She would have been shocked and disappointed had it not been for his eyes. They told her how much it was costing him to move away from her. Sere subconsciously registered the fact that they were alone in the room. No words were exchanged between them because it wasn't needed.

Finally Sere recognized what had just happened. She was bound to Ares. Nothing could ever break the two apart save death and maybe not even then.

She had fallen in love.


	2. Chapter 01

**Chapter 1**

"Sere! Can we hurry up?! Queen Serenity is coming back!" Kitenis, Sailor Uranus, cried.

Ares and Serene both jerked. Ares gave her an amused look tinged with longing and love. Taila rushed in and grabbed Ares' wrist.

"Time to go, Ares!" she said and effectively dragged him from the room. Outside, the Senshi were pacing nervously till Taila returned. Not even a minute had gone by when Queen Serenity showed up. She smiled at them and entered the room. They had thought everything had been going well until there was a loud crash and then the sound of a body hitting the floor. The Senshi took one look at each other and rushed into the room.

Queen Serenity was on the floor with Serene looking down at her unconscious mother.

"She fainted," she stated simply.

The Senshi looked from the Queen's body and Sere and back again before going into action. Dalit, Sailor Mercury, knelt beside the Queen and pulled out the compact and visor that was given to each new Soldier of Mercury.

"Dalit, let's keep this quiet," Tiaret, Sailor Jupiter, said.

"It's too bad that the Queen's Senshi were killed. Ever since then we've had to fumble along on our own," Jalae, Sailor Pluto, stated. 

"Yes, it is," whispered Tacy, Sailor Saturn.

After a few abortive gestures, the Queen finally came round. She glanced at the porcelain moon that had crashed when she fainted to the flowers in the vase and then to her daughter.

Serene gulped. Queen Serenity put her face in her hands and asked her simply, "What have you done?"

Taila quickly stepped forward, "Your Majesty, it wasn't Sere's fault. I wanted them to meet before the ceremony because of what I saw in the fire…" She broke away as Queen Serenity looked at her. Finally, Taila couldn't hold her gaze anymore and hung her head.

Stella, Sailor Venus, stepped forward. "Your Highness, you would be glad to know that Princess Serenity and Prince Ares have formed a soul bond, if you will. What that means is that they are true loves. One can barely live without the other. In simple terms, they are soulmates."

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter. Was she glad about her daughter's bond? Absolutely. She noticed Serene was looking at her warily. She smiled.

"Don't worry, little Serenity. I'm not mad. You just took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it," she said in her quiet voice.

Sere let out a pent up breath. She had been afraid her mother would refuse to let her marry Ares because of this fiasco. At the thought of the prince, Sere smiled almost involuntarily.

Queen Serenity saw the smile and guessed its meaning. "Sere, you are such a hard child to keep track of. So energetic and devious, like your father. It takes everything I have just to keep up with you. Now let's finish getting you ready." The Senshi were kept busy by fetching things while Sere was getting ready once again.

Across the palace, Ares sat and stared into space. The meeting with Princess Serenity had been such an explosive one. He had barely controlled himself from doing what he would have liked to do. He jerked himself out of his trance as the Moon King entered his room.

He was a tall man with long white hair that reached down to his waist. It flowed free and seemed to drape itself over his silver armor. It looked as if the armor was polished daily. The clothing under it was a very deep blue and his eyes were a startlingly bright jade. Odd considering the fact that Queen Serenity's eyes were an aqua color and the Princess' were a light blue. The one thing that the King and the Princess had in common was their piercing gaze.

Ares wished and hoped with all his soul that he didn't know about the prohibited visit between himself and the princess. The King gave the impression of being very loyal to his family, and it was rumored, slightly overprotective of his daughter.

The door snapped shut and Ares gulped silently.

"King Dari. Is there something wrong?"

Dari sat down on another chair near Ares. He smiled, very much aware of how he intimidated the young prince.

Ares slowly, _slowly_, relaxed under the King's smile.

"I came here to talk to you. There is nothing wrong." Dari lost his smile and Ares got nervous again. "Just one word of warning: if you hurt my daughter in anyway, I'll hurt you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry." He smiled again as Ares meekly nodded and gulped. "That was all."

The King's not inconsiderable muscles bulged as he heaved himself out of the chair. On his way to the door, he patted Ares' stiff shoulder and left quietly. Ares let out a breath. In a way, he understood why the King was so overprotective. The princess inspired those feelings of protection in him. He smiled as he thought about her.

Sere jumped nervously as her mother laid her hand on her shoulder. 

"It's time to go," she whispered.

Sere grabbed her hand when she moved to leave. 

"You won't tell dad, will you?" she asked anxiously.

Queen Serenity smiled and hugged her daughter. "No, I won't tell him my, dear Serenity." Sere smiled and mother and daughter left together with the Senshi surrounding them as they headed for the Great Hall.

As they reached the door, a guard stepped up.

"Queen Serenity, these are ambassadors from the planet Mau. They wish to speak to you." The guard bowed and, seeing the two members of the royal family guarded by the Senshi, left, knowing it was safe.

The ambassadors were male and female. The female had black hair with four balls on top of her head and the rest was loose, falling down towards her waist. She wore black leggings and a hunter green vest with an off-white shirt underneath it. She also had a bow and arrow draped over her shoulder.

The man had white hair (nearly as white as her husband's) that reached to his shoulder blades. He was dressed in pure white and the sword buckled around his waist proclaimed him as an excellent swordsman. Several knives were evident all over his person.

Queen Serenity dipped her head. "We have a ceremony going on at the moment. After it is done, my husband and I will be glad to speak with you. You are most welcome to watch," she added with a smile.

The ambassadors exchanged glances. The female stepped forward and spoke, "Your Majesty, I am Luna and this is my partner, Artemis. We have a quite urgent matter that I don't know will wait. We must speak on it now."

Queen Serenity looked Luna over for a moment. "Luna, we have a ceremony in progress as we speak and my daughter and I are late. This is her betrothal rite where we will announce that my daughter will marry Prince Ares of Mars. No matter the importance of the situation which brought you here, I will not have this ceremony put off or miss it at all," she said, mildly reproving.

Luna and Artemis exchanged glances again. "Yes, Your Majesty. We understand, but…"

"No buts. You are welcome to stay and watch the ceremony if you wish; however my daughter and I must go. Speak to one of the Senshi on this matter if it is that urgent or wait until the ceremony is over to speak to the King and myself." With that, Queen Serenity entered through the open door of the Great Hall, held ajar by the guards and followed by Serene.

Luna and Artemis watched them go and turned to the Senshi, still standing in the corridor. 

"I have heard of the Senshi." Suddenly, Artemis's face clouded over with confusion. "Are there not more of you? From what I have heard there is a generation of Senshi for each family member."

Dalit looked him over suspiciously. "Did you not hear of the assassination attempt on the Royal Moon Family ten years ago?"

Artemis and Luna looked surprised. "That was true? You mean the previous generations of Senshi were actually killed?" they asked incredulously.

The Senshi nodded and entered the Great Hall, leaving Luna and Artemis standing in the corridor, dumbstruck.

Serene walked slowly towards the dais, where her father stood. Queen Serenity stood beside her husband and their daughter stood before them. 

"Today we bear witness of the betrothal of Prince Ares of Mars and Princess Serenity of the Moon. Their affianced shall be announced officially now."

Luna and Artemis slipped into the hall quietly. Many people were there; almost too much for the hall to hold. The Senshi were ranged behind the King and Queen. Looking at them, it made the Mau ambassadors sad. They had a very hard job ahead of them. Not only must they guard Princess Serenity, but also the King and Queen for their predecessors were killed and could no longer do their duty. Judging from how they had acted, they had grown up earlier than they should have. Etched in every face were lines of worry, stress, and maturity. 

The assassination attempt ten years ago had reached everyone's ears. It was said that the last advisor to the Moon throne had tried to kill the Queen. It wasn't the fact that there had been an assassination attempt, but that the advisor had had enough power to kill eight experienced Sailor Soldiers. In all the history of the Senshi, never once had that ever happened. It was so easy to believe it never really happened, for the Senshi meant something to everyone. For some it was power, for others it was protection. No matter the meaning for anyone, it came as a strong blow and some chose not to believe. Some, including Luna and Artemis, had dismissed the rumor as a crazy drunk's tale. Now it was undeniable that it had actually happened.

The King continued, unaware of Luna and Artemis's thoughts. "Prince Ares, please come forward and take the hand of Princess Serenity." 

There were many gasps of longing from the women present as Ares entered the room. Serene ached to turn around, but knew she wasn't allowed. She stared straight ahead and felt him take her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at him. Her heart began to go in overload; it began to beat so loud, she was sure everyone in the hall could hear it. 

He wore burgundy colored clothes and silver armor. A ruby gleamed from the sword hilt at her. Red seemed to be the color for Mars. She caught Taila's eye and Taila winked at her, smiling a little mischievously. 

"Prince Ares, do you accept Princess Serenity as your betrothed?" asked the Queen, knowing the answer.

"Yes," he answered.

"Princess Serenity, do you accept Prince Ares as your betrothed?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Then your wedding date will be set three years from now, as is the Moon Kingdom's custom. Thank you all for attending. Prince and Princess, you may step down," the Queen added, smiling. She'd have to talk to Dari about his over-protectiveness.

Serene finally looked at Ares and smiled at him. He grinned back and they left. The Senshi glanced at the Queen for instruction. Should they follow the Princess or did they stay for the ambassador's message? Queen Serenity indicated it was up to them. Stella drew all the Senshi together. 

"Do we follow the Princess or stay with the Queen and King?"

Taila interjected. "Come on, guys. This is my cousin with Serene. He wouldn't hurt her!"

"Calm down, Taila," Caden soothed. "This is not as if we don't trust your cousin; this is precautionary in case something happens."

Taila calmed down as Kitenis spoke. "I say four and four. We call in case one group needs the other. Neptune, Pluto, Saturn, and I will stay and protect the Queen, should it be needed. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus will go to the Princess." Deliberately, she used their Soldier titles instead of names.

The others nodded and the Inner Soldiers left to find their Princess. The Outers surrounded the Queen and King as Luna and Artemis approached the throne. The hall was empty by the time they reached it. 

Luna and Artemis looked at the Soldiers behind the rulers. They weren't the cheerful girls they had seen glimpses of during the ceremony, but the serious and battle-toughened Sailor Senshi. One day, they would like to see them fight. It would be something. No one living had seen them in action. 

A Soldier in dark blue and yellow ribbons stepped forward. She had shoulder length brown hair and was relatively tall. Her eyes were green and her tiara had a dark blue jewel in the center. Yet she looked different from the other glimpses they had seen of other generations of Senshi. Obviously the colors and tiara was the only thing that stayed the same between each generation. Her boots reached to mid-calf and were dark blue but ringed with yellow. Her gloves reached to her elbow and she had a medium pitched voice. "I am Sailor Uranus. Speak on what urgent matter that brought you to us."

While Luna explained, Artemis looked at the other Soldiers. One had an aquamarine fuku, but her hair and eyes contrasted with her colors. Her hair was light blond and cut short. Two strands of hair on either side of her face reached to her chin. The rest of her tresses were cut around her head. Her gloves reached to her elbows again, but her boots reached to her knees. Her eyes were startlingly bright silver. _She must be __Neptune__._

The one standing next to her was the most calm of them all and had a neutral expression on her face whereas the others had suspicious looks. She had a dark green fuku; almost black. At one point, he decided that he didn't know. It was either a dark green or black. Her hair was not blond, but a dark gold color. Reaching to her neck, it had been braided intricately. _From what I've heard, she must be Sailor Pluto_. Her sky blue eyes looked him over critically. 

The last of the Soldiers in front of them had to be Sailor Saturn. There was no option left, what with those colors. Dark purple with maroon bows framed a well filled out body. Her knee length hair was black and held back with clips at various intervals. Her eyes were a light lavender color and she gazed at him with eyes not meant for serious situations.

"Your Majesties, I regret bringing up this subject, but you must know. The assassination attempt ten years ago was not an isolated incident. He was acting under a larger force and that force is awakening. I fear the worst for the Moon Family. We have heard this information from some…not quite credible sources, granted, but I believe this to be true. We don't know what they hope to accomplish, but nevertheless you must be on your guard."

Queen Serenity and King Dari exchanged glances. "We thank you for your warning and take our hospitalities back to your planet."

Luna and Artemis exchanged glances and Artemis took a deep breath before saying, "If it would please your Majesties, we would like to remain at your side and help you in these troubled times to come."

Dari raised his eyebrows and looked at his wife. Even after the years they had been married, he still couldn't believe how much he loved her or how beautiful she really was. Queen Serenity looked at him.

"All right. You may stay. If you will excuse us, we must be going," Serenity told them. 

Luna and Artemis bowed and left. 

"Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. Please leave us. We are going to our chambers and do not wish to be disturbed." The Senshi nodded and left.


	3. Chapter 02

**Chapter 2**

"Where are they?" Tiaret complained. 

Dalit pulled out her computer. A few moments of beeping occurred before she pointed. "They're in the gardens."

Stella groaned. "How are we supposed to find them in there? The gardens occupy most of the Moon Kingdom's grounds!"

Taila concentrated. Her psychic powers suffered when she wasn't near the fire, but that didn't mean she couldn't use them at all. Slowly, she focused on Serene and Ares. Both good subjects, as she knew them well. 

"Follow me," she muttered and ran into the entrance.

Serene stared into Ares' eyes, not willing to pull away. How she loved him. How, was the question. She didn't even know him at all. Arranged marriages never seemed to work out and she had been sure this would be a dud. _Guess I was wrong_. 

"Princess Serenity?" he murmured.

"Yes," she replied, dazed.

"Are you listening to me?" he asked.

She shook herself out of her daydream and realized that he had been talking to her. Serene blushed and Ares gave her a wry look. 

"What was it you asked me?"

"I asked if you have ever been on Mars."

"No, unfortunately. What is it like?"

He smiled and began to launch into an exhaustive description of his planet, geography and such that she had absolutely no interest in at all. 

"Princess, you have no idea—" he began before she interrupted.

"It's Serene."

"Huh?"

"My name is Serene. We're betrothed and all now so I think you had better know it. The Serenity thing is just a title; not my name," she explained patiently. For some reason she couldn't imagine, everyone seemed to think that the Royal Moon Family always named their children Serenity. It would have been odd if they had named a boy Serenity. 

"Oh. Thank you for telling me."

"Serene!!!" 

Serene looked over her shoulder and saw the Inner Senshi heading towards her. "Do you know my Inner Soldiers?" she asked Ares. 

He grinned and shook his head, but said, "Only one. I do know Mars."

She smiled in return as they reached her. "Well let me introduce you to the others. This is Tiaret, Sailor Jupiter," she said, pointing to a red-haired youth in a bright green fuku with pink ribbons. Her shoes were a little over ankle high and her red hair was held back in a ponytail. A very small ponytail as her hair barely reached past her ears. Her eyes were a brown color that reminded her of the soil she had seen from afar on Earth. Her tiara had a green jewel in the center.

"You know Taila, Sailor Mars," she said, pointing to his cousin who looked nothing like him. She had black, waist-length hair that was always tied up on her head. Her eyes were a bright red color, going nicely with her red and purple fuku. Her shoes had no heels, but straps that reached up to mid-calf. Her tiara had a red jewel in the center. 

"This is Stella, Sailor Venus," gesturing to a blond haired, bright hazel eyed, young girl. Her fuku was yellow and blue with a yellow stone in the center of her tiara. She had low-heeled shoes that tied up to her knees and wrist length gloves.

"And last, but definitely not least, is Dalit, Sailor Mercury," she finished, pointing to her friend with bluish white hair and light, bright aquamarine eyes. Her colors were blue and a lighter blue with a sapphire in the center of her tiara. Her gloves reached just above her wrists and her boots were ankle-high with ties up the sides.

"Pleased to meet you all," Ares said as the Outers rushed up. 

"There you are. Do you know how long it took to find you?" Kitenis cried, irritated.

"Oh, and this is Kitenis, Sailor Uranus, Caden, Sailor Neptune, Jalae, Sailor Pluto, and Tacy, Sailor Saturn."

Ares nodded his head in greeting and they did likewise. A tense silence followed before Serene broke out laughing. "Come on. We have all day to do the silent treatment." She coughed delicately. "Um…Senshi, do you mind leaving Ares and I alone for a while?" she asked politely.

The Senshi exchanged glances. Even Taila was reluctant to do so. "I don't know, Serene," she began. "We've already had enough close encounters with Queen Serenity finding us doing what we weren't supposed to be doing today."

Serene walked up to Taila. "Come on, Taila. Nothing will happen between me and Ares."

Kitenis gave a crooked grin. "Which is why you're so disappointed, right?"

Serene blushed and made a swat for her. Kitenis dived out of the way and rushed out, the other Senshi close behind her; the sound of Ares' laughter accompanied them all the way to the training grounds nearby.

She felt the muscles in her back tense and the soreness returned. She groaned. Yesterday's activities had taken a lot out of her. More than she'd thought, considering the fact that she and the others were always training. She crawled into her comfortable bed with another groan.

"Tiaret!!" cried Dalit's voice. 

It never failed. Dalit could wake the entire Moon Kingdom from a wonderful sleep by simply _talking_. One thing about the Senshi of Mercury was that she never stopped moving and her voice was very loud when she wished it to be. But to be sure, none could find a better singer. She had the tones of an angel. When she was singing.

Kitenis opened her door in irritation just as Tiaret came barreling by with Dalit in close pursuit. She didn't even need to wonder what it was this time; she didn't care. They were always ending up in some kind of fight because Tiaret couldn't lay off teasing Dalit about her loud voice or constant moving. 

She looked at the sky; it wasn't even light yet. Glancing at the clock, it read, 12:00 a.m.

"Oh, not even!" she muttered. In the middle of the night, no less!

Caden and Stella approached her, both in their night robes. Kitenis did not even have that on. She wore her nightdress, which was very revealing, and at that moment, she didn't even care. 

"You grab Tiaret, I'll grab Dalit," Caden told her. Kitenis nodded.

When Tiaret passed by, the Senshi wrapped her arms around the running form. Her movement was completely arrested and she fell back violently into her friend's arms. 

Dalit, who thought she had her prey _this time_, did not notice as arms wrapped around her waist. When she attempted to knock her friend out, she found she couldn't move. She looked into Caden's annoyed face. 

"Look," Stella began, "this has got to stop. Do you know what time it is? It is—"

"Midnight!"

All five cringed at once and slowly turned around. King Dari stood there in his night robe with the Queen by his side. Both looked beside themselves with annoyance and anger. 

"We make allowances for your youth, but this is far enough," he continued. "It is midnight when you all should be asleep. I have no idea why you are not, but I don't very much care to know."

Queen Serenity put her hand on her husband's arm. He was always cranky on lack of sleep. Turning to the Senshi, she said, "I agree, but on a less irritated scale, I think. You should be asleep. You all have been working very hard in the training grounds the other day and you should rest."

The five Senshi looked ashamed at themselves. The King and Queen left for their quarters and with an angry look, Kitenis dragged Tiaret into her room, the others following. Stella closed the door and turned on the lights.

Kitenis dropped Tiaret unceremoniously on the floor and Caden did the same. "Look," she started, "this has got to stop. I agree with the King on a larger scale! I'm tired of being woken up in the middle of the night by your fights! I don't know why you two were up and I don't care. Just go back to sleep! You will both get all of us into serious trouble if you don't stop!"

Tiaret and Dalit looked at each other, embarrassed. They muttered agreements and left, Caden and Stella escorting them. Kitenis groaned and climbed back into her soft bed. She just wanted some undisturbed sleep.

An hour later, she still hadn't had it. When the alarm sounded, she jumped from her bed with a curse that would have turned Taila's hair white. Transforming, she ran to find the cause of the distress.

On the outer perimeter of the castle, a lone guard sat, immersed in embarrassment as the seven Senshi surrounded him. The last, one in yellow and blue and looking extremely beyond angry, appeared less than a moment later. 

"The King and Queen are on their way. Ares is protecting Princess Serenity," she stated.

The guard dropped his head. It was bad enough that he hadn't listened to his superior and pulled the alarm, but now the Senshi and the Royal Family would be involved.

"Do you even know what that alarm does?" asked Jalae menacingly. 

He cleared his throat. "I…it calls the Senshi to battle."

"Right," Taila said in a tone of one speaking to a particularly dense child. "And did you believe it called the Senshi to battle?"

He gulped. "No."

There was silence and he steeled himself to look up. All the expressions that greeted him were hard and angry. The King and Queen arrived then, out of breath. The Queen had the Ginzuishou with her and ready to use it. She had her arm linked through that of her husband's. The King had his sword drawn and ready.

He hung his head again as the King asked what happened. He felt the Senshi's stares boring into him and he whispered, "It was my fault. I've just been assigned to guard the castle, you see. I was a guard at one of the small villages and we don't see the Senshi there and all we hear are rumors. When my commander told me that the alarm here called the Senshi to battle, I didn't believe him. I pulled the lever, wondering what I thought it really did. I'm so sorry."

The Royal Family looked at each other and at the Senshi. Finally the King spoke. "Senshi, you control a lot of the armed forces. This is not something that requires our judgment. Decide on your own what to do." They left for their beds with irritated sighs and expressions.

The guard decided he was no better off. It was said that the Queen was the most levelheaded and the kindest. On the other hand, the Senshi were a force to be reckoned with and hard commanders to obey. They drove the guards to near exhaustion and ran a 'tight ship'.

Stella looked down at him. It was her decision since she was the leader of the Senshi. "So, you didn't believe what the alarm did. And you pulled it at 1:00 a.m. What to do with you?" She took pity on him. "You may stay at your guard post, but if we hear of _any_ activities such as this happening again, you will be gone. And you will report to me for _extra_ duties." He turned white, but nodded.

They left him there and Kitenis headed back to her room. Hopefully she could get some sleep. 

She was sadly mistaken when at 3:00 she was awoken by another alarm. By this time, she was ready to kill something. Good thing too, because when she arrived at the outer courtyard, all the Senshi were in battle. 

"Earth-Space Shaker!" she cried and thrust her arm in the air. She brought it down in an arc and yellow light followed her hand. The earth shook and golden stars flew at the attacker. They surrounded him and swirled for a second more. Then five stars flew at him and two pierced his chest, one his back and two others at his legs.

He was killed with her attack and she breathed a sigh of relief and disappointment. The other Senshi jogged up to her. "Good going," Jalae commented.

They dismissed the guards to go back to their positions. Things settled down quickly, but the Senshi stayed in the outer courtyard for the next three hours, discussing the attack. They finally decided that it was probably a random attack or assassination attempt, but they would be on guard just in case.

Kitenis did not even detransform as she dropped down onto her bed. She was going to sleep and she would not get up even if the world fell down. The green light of the alarm clock blared in her eyes. She had turned it to see the time before the attack. It read 6:00 a.m. She groaned and her fist slammed it off the desk. If something else interrupted her sleep, she would scream and kill. She wasn't the Soldier of Uranus and second-in-command for nothing. 


	4. Chapter 03

**Chapter 3**

The horrifying noise of the alarm clock going off dragged Kitenis from sleep an hour later. She gave a small scream. Over the entire night, she had had about four hours of sleep total. Life wasn't fair. 

She left the room and attempted to straighten her fuku. It didn't need it. For some reason, the skirt and so forth was immune to wrinkles. She huffed and entered the dining room. The other seven Senshi were already there as well as Princess Serenity and Prince Ares. 

Dalit and Tiaret were silent when the others greeted her. She almost glared at them anyway; lack of sleep did murder on Kitenis' attitude. Not to mention she was still very sore from the training the other day.

"Did you sleep well?" Serene asked pleasantly.

Kitenis frowned heavily. "No."

"Bad dreams?"

"No…inability to go to sleep," she said with a glare at Dalit and Tiaret.

Serene got the point. "Oh."

The rest of the breakfast passed a little more pleasantly than it began until Luna entered. "Lady Neptune, your mother and father have a call for you."

Caden groaned. She'd had about as much sleep as Kitenis and she was already straining with her relationship with her mother and father. On her way out, she told Luna to forget the 'Lady' and titles. Just as long as they called them their Senshi names, for they had not given them leave to call them by their true names because they didn't know them all that well. 

She entered her room with a sigh. Turning on the visual for the hologram, she resumed her poker face. Immediately a diatribe came from her mother. 

"We've put up with this 'Soldier' business for a while now, but enough is enough. We finally got someone to agree to meet you and perhaps arrange a marriage."

"No. I won't marry anyone and I will choose who I love."

Her father cleared his throat. "We've see who you—"

"Don't you dare start bashing on Stella! We love each other and I won't hear another word about it! I will not marry anyone! Stella and I are in love and you just have to deal with it!" she said forcefully.

She caught both their disapproving glances behind her and she felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew Stella was there. Looking up at her, hazel and silver eyes met. Stella looked away after a moment.

Caden frowned and turned back to her parents. "I'm going. Stop calling me. You know even if I wasn't a Soldier I would refuse the throne. I want nothing to do with your…betrothal man. I won't marry him. By the way, even if I could give up being a Soldier, I wouldn't. I love it and I love living on the Moon. And most of all, I love being with my friends."

"That's not all you love," her mother sneered and Stella winced. "Rumor gets around—"

"Shut up!" Caden stood up. "How dare you say that!" The strands around her face swayed madly with her abrupt movements. "I will no longer talk to you so stop calling!" She shut off the visual.

Stella moved away and sat on their bed. "Caden, you are destroying your family. And it's because of me," she whispered.

Caden knelt in front of Stella. "It isn't because of you. It's because they are too close-minded. You and I share a love just as deep as Serene's and Ares' and we are just acknowledging it. Don't worry about my parents."

Stella smiled. Caden always knew how to make her feel better. She kissed her lightly on the lips and both went in search of their friends. 

Dalit tapped on her computer keys. Everything was coming up negative. Her brow furrowed in anger and frustration. 

"What's wrong?" asked Tacy.

"Well, I'm trying to do some readings and everything is coming up negative."

"What are you trying to scan?"

"Anything! My computer isn't working!"

"Something wrong with the Mercury computer?" asked Jalae in worry. "Nothing has ever affected it before. Why would this be any different? What's causing this?"

"Didn't you see anything in the timeline?"

Jalae frowned at Tacy. "Even if I had, do you think I could _tell_ you about it?"

"No, not really."

Tiaret ran up to them. "What's up?"

They explained the computer and Tiaret let out a breath of concern. "Do you suppose…something happened to it last night? I mean, it _was_ knocked down, you know."

"It can't be that," Dalit cried. "You know how many times this computer has been knocked down and nothing ever happened to it before!"

A scream echoed in the palace. They gasped. 

"Taila!" Dalit cried and they ran to the Soldier's room. It was locked and they could not get it open. The screaming increased in volume and took on a panicked note to it. They pushed harder, but to no avail. Kitenis even added her shoulder to that of the others, yet no result came. None of the Soldiers could open the door. Caden and Stella even tried their attacks, but it was impossible. Something was holding the door with some kind of magic.

The screaming stopped abruptly and they listened intently and anxiously. The door slowly opened and Taila came out, white as a sheet. The whole castle was roused, but they ordered the servants to leave. Luna and Artemis walked up, supporting Taila.

"You were in there?" Dalit cried in anger. "And you did nothing to let us in? How dare you! What were you doing to her?"

"We did nothing," Artemis told her. "She was doing a fire-reading and she started screaming. Luna tried to get her out of it and I tried to open the door, but I couldn't and neither could Luna bring her back. We had to wait it out anxiously as well."

Taila looked up at the Senshi. "We have to step up our training. In three years time there will be a war. It will have grave consequences to it and I can't foresee them."

They nodded and Jalae slipped to the Time Gate. She had to find out what was going on. However, she wished she had not looked. Her knees collapsed out from under her at what she saw. What Taila had said was an understatement. _And I can't do anything about it_, she thought in despair. 

Two years later found no change much in the situation for the Senshi. Their lives continued much the same. Until one day…

"Serene?" Tacy called as she wandered down the hall to the princess' room. Without so much as a knock, she opened the door, thinking her friend would just be brushing her hair or something equally picturesque. 

What she thought was not what she found. Serene pulled the comforter over her bare chest when the Sailor of Saturn came in and Ares gulped. 

Tacy's mouth worked very hard at saying something, but alas, nothing came out. She stiffened further when she heard her name called by Kitenis.

She slammed the door shut and leaned against it. Kitenis approached her with a confused look on her face. "What is it? I was just going to talk to Serene for a few minutes."

"You can't!" she cried abruptly. "Uh, I'm mean…she's, um…BUSY at the moment."

The other Senshi approached, curious by the display. Tacy had forgotten the eight of them had agreed to meet in front of Serene's bedroom and tell her the bad news that Ares was going back to Mars for a few months. They had figured it would be heartbreaking since he had just returned from there. 

"Move," Kitenis ordered politely. "Did you forget why we came here?"

"No, I didn't, but you can't…" She trailed off as Kitenis shouldered her way into the room. Tacy put her face in her hands as the other Senshi followed the Soldier of the heavens. 

Surprisingly, there was silence. Tacy dared to look up at her friends. Kitenis was white and stiff as a board. Serene had buried her head in Ares' chest, avoiding the incredulous looks her friends were giving her. Ares was as bright red as Taila's fuku.

In the silence, it was easy to hear the footsteps coming toward the room. Tacy, the only one outside the door, looked around the corner and her blood froze. She turned to others and said in a striding whisper, "It's the King! If he finds them like this, we'll be preparing the funeral for the Prince of Mars!"

The other Senshi began to get in a frantic hurry. Taila threw Ares' his pants, who put them on faster than Tiaret could throw a lighting bolt. 

"There's no way we can get him out of the room without the King seeing," Dalit said quietly. 

All the Senshi, Ares, and Serene looked around the big room for a hiding place. Kitenis spotted the closet. She grabbed his arm and shoved him in. "Be quiet or you won't have time to breathe before you're dead." She shut the door and turned to the princess, pulling her from the bed. "Get in _something_! Anything will do! A robe or something; say you just got out of the shower."

"He won't believe that!" Serene cried. "I'm not wet!"

"That can be fixed," Kitenis said. "Mercury!"

"Sorry, Serene," Dalit said and cried out, "Mercury Stream Flood!" 

She pointed her finger in the air and twirled around twice. A veritable flow of water fell from her finger onto the incredulous princess. She stood gaping while Caden threw her a robe.

Taila, Tiaret, and Stella ran to the door to look. Stella turned white and looked back to the others in the room. "Hurry! He's coming down the corridor!"

"Stall him!" Jalae cried frantically. "We still have to fix the bed and get rid of the rest of Ares' clothes!"

Taila, Tiaret, and Stella gulped and almost bolted down the corridor. "Hello, Your Majesty? What are you doing down here?" Stella said, forcing herself to look calm like usual.

King Dari gave them a surprised look. "I'm here to talk to Serene."

"Well, now might not be the best time…" Taila said with a glance back at the door.

"Why not?"

The two looked at Tiaret, who almost gulped. She'd never been good at lying. "Well…she…I…"

Taila grabbed her arm and looked pointedly toward the door out of the corner of her eye. Tiaret did the same and saw the other Senshi sneaking from the door and giving her a 'thumbs up' sign.

"Well what?" asked the King irritably.

"She's indisposed at the moment," finished Tiaret lamely.

King Dari huffed and moved past them. As soon he had his back to them, the three Senshi began to pray silently to their planets. They rejoined the others around the other corner of the corridor to wait for an explosion that signified Ares had breathed and was now dead.

Serene jumped when her father entered. "Daddy, I just got out of the shower!"

"I can see that," King Dari said with a smile and sat in one of the chairs. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"What?"

He stood up and walked around the room. He was never good at sitting still. He finally leaned up against the closet doors and Serene pulled in her breath. Ares didn't even dare to breathe.

"I'm sorry honey, but Ares must go back to Mars at the end of the day."

Serene attempted to look surprised and utterly dismayed. Ares had told her that that morning and that was how they had ended up in bed together. Kind of an intimate goodbye. 

She was sure her acting wouldn't work, but apparently he was sufficiently convinced by her expression that she hadn't known. "I'm sorry, but his parents need him at the moment. A few final touches to deal with when he comes to live as King of the Moon."

"I see," she said nervously.

He walked over and kissed his daughter on the forehead that held the Moon symbol. When he was out of the room, Serene ran to the closet. She slammed the doors shut a second afterward when her father poked his head around the doorframe.

"Yes, Daddy?"

"I was just wondering if something is going on. Care to tell me what it is?"

"What do you mean?" Her nervousness turned into full-blown anxiety.

"Well the Senshi stopped me on my way here and seemed nervous and when I talked with you, you seem more nervous than them. And then when I came back you slammed the doors of your closet shut. As if there was something in there you didn't want me to see."

Serene gulped silently. "Why no. You know the things in my closet are all dresses. Why would you think I would hide anything from you? I always tell you everything. You must just be paranoid."

The King chuckled. "I suppose you're right." He left the doorway and Serene listened as his footsteps retreated. She inched to the doorway and peered around it, watching as her father turned the corner. When he was gone, she ran back to the closet and let out the Prince of Mars who immediately collapsed on the floor.

"I don't think my nerves will ever be the same," he muttered as the Senshi ran in and closed the door.

All were breathing heavy in relief. "You think YOUR nerves can't take this?" asked Tiaret. "MINE can't take this!"

"What did you think you were DOING, Serene?" Stella cried. "You could have gotten ALL of us killed!"

"Well, earlier Ares came to tell me he was leaving for a few months and what you saw was a goodbye."

Taila glared at Ares who had the grace to look ashamed. "I didn't mean it to end like that, but, well…" He trailed off and shrugged, looking sheepish. 

The Senshi just shook their heads. There was a knock on the door and they stiffened. Taila gripped Serene's arm and urged her to be calm when she said something. 

The princess cleared her throat and asked, her voice wavering slightly, "Who is it?"

"Luna and Artemis, Your Highness."

"Um…what do you need?"

"We were wondering where the Senshi were. We need to talk to them and we can't find them. We were hoping you could tell us where they are."

Luna and Artemis heard a flurry of motion from inside the room and they exchanged glances. A moment of silence and the doors were thrown open. The Senshi stood behind the princess.

"Soldiers," Luna began, "we have news for you."

The Senshi glanced at each other. Taking a deep breath, they walked from the room, each with a backward glance at either the princess or, oddly enough, the closet.

Luna and Artemis led the warriors to a war room. All along the walls and tables were maps of the universe, planets, and the cities of them. Luna closed the door.

"We have some…unfortunate news. Each of your parents wishes to see you, but we have learned more about the war that Taila said would come in a half-a-year. There will be more attempts, from what we can tell. However, your families want to see you for the next year since they haven't seen or heard from you in the past seven or more. They have threatened to pull their alliances with the Moon because they believe that the Royal Moon Family has been keeping you here, not that you simply do not have the time or the inclination to visit."

"What?" gasped Dalit. "That's…that's…impossible! To fight the upcoming war, we'll need those alliances!"

"The point exactly and the only way to keep them is for you to visit your homes. The King and Queen thought it would be best if _we_ told you."

Caden groaned silently. More than the others, she did not want to go back to Neptune. She hadn't received any more calls from them, but she could just imagine her parents egging the others' families to call them home. A year! This was going to be hell on her nerves. A year of being away from the Moon, her true home inside her heart. A year away from her friends. A year away from the princess. A year away from Stella. 

Stella obviously felt the same way for when their eyes met, hers filled with sorrow. Caden closed her silver eyes and looked away. She couldn't bear to say goodbye to her and it hurt to see Stella in pain.

"I guess we have no choice," she heard Tacy say vacantly.

She felt someone hold her hand and she knew it was Stella. She opened her eyes and they filled with tears. Quietly, they left the room for one last goodbye for a year.

"I'll miss you," Stella whispered. 

"So will I. I will think of you for all the seconds we are apart."

"Caden," she began, "do you think you could stop loving me? Do you think that if you went back to Neptune that you would fall in love with someone else?"

Caden looked at her in shock. "How could you suggest such a thing? My heart will always be yours!"

Stella smiled. "I just wanted to be sure." They kissed passionately and sadly re-entered the war room.

"Are we ready?" asked Artemis.

The Senshi said their last goodbyes for the year and, with a pull of a lever from Luna, they disappeared.


	5. Chapter 04

**Chapter 4** Mariner Castle, Mercury 

Dalit appeared outside the palace with a heavy heart full of worry and sadness. What would happen to the princess with the Soldiers gone? The Senshi of Mercury felt out of place on her own planet. She hadn't been there since seven years ago. And it hurt, remembering why she had left and not returned. Could those seven years have healed the pain for her family?

She walked up to the gates and the guardsmen parted for her. She hesitated and greeted them. They did not respond and she sighed. Some things never changed. _They'll never talk to me like they used to_, Dalit thought, almost despairingly.

"Dalit!" cried a warm voice. 

Soldier Mercury sighed and turned with a smile pasted on her face. Coming towards her was her mother. The cause of all her pain. If only her father was still alive…

"Hello, mother," she said politely.

The Queen of Mercury threw her arms around her daughter. "Come with me. You can have your old room and you can get out of those awful clothes."

Mercury stopped walking. "I like my fuku," she said coldly.

Her mother paused. "Of course you do. I simply met you might want to change from them now that your home and you are not specifically on duty as a Senshi," she hedged.

Dalit said not a word and swept past her mother. This was going to be hell. She walked past everyone in the palace with long, angry strides. Her white, icy blue hair swayed madly as she walked. Her eyes narrowed and she brushed the strands of hair from her eyes. 

Someone grabbed her waist-length hair and pulled. Automatically she cried out and whirled around, ready to fight. She saw no one. Looking down, she saw a baby boy with dark brown hair. She bent and picked him up. A girl about two years old ran up to her and held out her arms. She had very dark blue hair that came to her neck and she wore an apologetic expression on her face and in her deep blue eyes. "I'm sorry. He got away from me."

Dalit smiled and knelt in front of the little girl. "Who are you?"

The girl gave her a watery smile. "Ami. He's Randilyn, my baby brother. Momma said I had to watch over him today because her sister was coming back and she wanted to greet her."

"I see," Dalit said tonelessly. "And what do you know about your aunt? Are you looking forward to meeting her?"

Ami paused and looked at what the woman was wearing. "Well, I heard," She lowered her voice and continued on confidentially, "I heard she is a _Senshi_. She is the Senshi of Mercury in fact. I can't wait to meet her! I heard the guards talking one night and they said it was a great honor and that it couldn't have happened to a nicer person or a better warrior!" The girl paused, as if something had just occurred to her. "Who are you? Are you here to see her too?"

Dalit smiled and handed back Randilyn. "Well, I've already met this Senshi of Mercury. She is happy to meet you, Ami."

Ami's eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm pleased to meet such a wonderful niece of mine. I'm Dalit, Senshi and a Princess of Mercury."

Ami's eyes widened. 

"Better get back to your mother. She'll be looking for you." 

Ami nodded and ran back the way she came, looking back occasionally. Dalit continued to smile as she stood up. Ami had a true gift. Had she been her age when she had been chosen to become the Senshi of Mercury, Ami would have been chosen over her. _She has such a gift. _

Dalit walked down the halls again, slower this time. She enjoyed looking at the ice-blue walls and long corridors. She would sometimes stop at the windows and look down at the lakes around the palace. Now she remembered why she sometimes missed her home.

"Dalit!"

Dalit turned and watched as her sister ran up to her. She smiled and hugged her. "Sasha! It's good to see you."

"Why don't you come to visit more often then?" she asked as she pulled away and they started walking toward Mercury's bedroom.

Dalit's eyes hardened. "I wish I could, but I can't bear the thought of being in the same room as mother for more than sixty seconds."

"Are you both still arguing about that? She's making an effort to change and says she's sorry, she really is."

Mercury turned to her sister angrily. "No she isn't. She's just being more condescending in subtler ways!"

Sasha sighed. "You met her on your way in, didn't you?"

Dalit turned away and didn't answer. Instead, they began walking again and she asked, "How are things going between you and your husband? I heard it was an arranged marriage."

"Yes, it was. There is neither love lost nor hate. For both of us I guess it's more like a business deal. We're friends, but we don't love each other."

"Are you faithful to him and him to you?"

Sasha turned to look at her sister. "Yes. Just because we aren't in true love doesn't mean that we aren't faithful."

Dalit didn't say anything and Sasha cleared her throat when they reached her room. "Can I come in?"

She looked at her sister in surprise. "Sure."

Sasha closed the door behind her. "I have something to tell you. You might want to watch yourself around my husband, Akamu. He is violently proud of his ability to fight and will go to any lengths to prove it. He also saw the picture of you in my room. A friend of mine that visited from Venus said he had fallen instantly in love with you."

"What? How could he just from a picture?"

"I don't know, but I think you should watch yourself."

"I will," Dalit promised. It was obvious to her that Sasha was concerned that Akamu could beat her in fighting. Well, if he tried anything with the Senshi of Mercury, he would find himself in some big trouble.

Dalit stretched her muscles. It felt so strange to not be even the slightest bit sore. She was always slightly sore because of…Suddenly she remembered where she was and why she was not sore. There had been no training session and would be none until the year was over. 

The Senshi of Mercury crawled out of bed to find a servant waiting for her. "What do you want?"

The maid winced at the harsh tone she used. "The Queen asked me to help you into your gown," she said, pointing at the dress hanging from the closet rack.

Dalit's eyes grew icy with anger and seemed to freeze the maid where she stood. "You go back and tell _my mother_ that I will not wear her clothing. Tell her I will remain in Senshi form. Tell her…tell her that even though I am here on my own planet on a supposed_ visit_, I am still a Soldier, first and foremost, and I will remain that way until it is time to leave. And if she doesn't believe you or wishes to punish you, tell her to come see me," she finished, cracking her gloved knuckles.

The servant bowed and hurried from the room. Dalit felt slightly guilty about scaring the poor girl, for she couldn't have been older than fourteen, but she had been so angry with her mother that she couldn't help it. She knew her mother, the Queen of Mercury, wouldn't believe her. _Well, let's show her that I'm not lying_, she thought and headed for the training grounds.

She spent the entire hour there unmolested. Soon she gathered an audience, small Ami included, although hidden behind the guards. Among the spectators was Sasha's husband. He watched with a blank face.

"Ice Mist!" Mercury cried, the gem on her tiara glowing. Touching it in the center, her palm shimmering. Pulling her hand into a fist, ice shards burst from between her closed fingers and turned into a beam of mist with shards inside. When it hit the practice dummy, it shattered to pieces.

One man clapping caught her attention. She turned her head and saw Akamu. He approached her, his hand outstretched. Although she had her misgivings, Dalit took it. 

"It is good to see someone who can fight well, even if you are only a woman."

Dalit bristled and pulled her hand away sharply, as if she'd been stung. Her attitude turned to ice. "Any time you want, I'll show you that gender does not matter to a _good_ fighter."

Akamu glared at her as whispers started in the spectators. "For a princess, you are quite rude in the mouth."

"For a prince, you are quite stupid in the brain," was her cool reply. 

He lunged at her with a dagger in his hands. Mercury dodged it easily and hit him back. He fell to the ground. Turning her back on him, she decided a walk around the grounds would do her good. Unfortunately, Akamu had many dirty tricks up his sleeves that he was in no way averse to using and that Mercury had not thought of.

Hitting her from behind, the Senshi fell to the hard-packed earth. She rolled onto her back as he swiped at her with the dagger. A flurry of movement and Ami was lying on top of the Senshi, begging her father not to hurt her aunt. 

Both the warriors knew he could not pull his strike in time. Mercury clutched the two year old in her arms and turned on her side. Because he had tried to change the strike from the dagger, it had no real force behind it and it did not even cut through her fuku. _Not that it would anyway!_

Both adults were slightly shaking by the close call of the little girl's injury. Ami, whose eyes were closed, felt herself being picked up. She looked up into Dalit's aquamarine eyes. They held concern in them and she wondered if she'd been hurt.

Mercury stood up. "Ami, what did you do? He could not have pulled that strike and if it had been anyone but me, you would have been seriously hurt. Listen, your father was not intending to kill or injure me. We were only having a sparing match."

"Sparing?"

"That means when you fight, you only fight to see if you can best someone, not hurt or kill them. It's really only used to test abilities when compared with another."

Ami nodded shakily and Dalit set her on the ground. "Go back to Sasha."

The little girl ran off and Mercury, without a word or looking back, left the training grounds. A walk would certainly do her good and she had a lot of thinking to do.

Akamu was certainly very handsome and his looks had stirred something in her heart. Yet she could not bring herself to look past his actions. He _had _attempted to injure her. But she had watched him the day she had arrived when he was with her sister and children. He loved the kids, that was for certain and it was obvious that what her sister said was true. They were friends, but not in love. The match was actually a good one. But what did she feel?

She ended up running into her mother near the pool that had always been her childhood favorite place. Her mother's eyes were cold, hard stones. With her icy demeanor, one would not think that she came from the planet Venus. 

"I heard what happened in your bedroom early this morning and I saw what happened in the training grounds right now. Can you not…" She trailed off with a groan of frustration.

"Can I not what?" asked Mercury angrily. "Can I not act more like a princess? Can I not act like a Senshi? Can I not act more like you?"

"Yes…no…I don't know! Can you not act so…brash?"

"Oh," she said, her tone one of mock-discovery, "you mean, can I not act less like myself? Well, sorry mother, I can't. I won't because this is who and what I am and if you don't like it, you'll just have to deal with it."

The Queen of Mercury glared at her daughter. "You should not have come back."

"I didn't want to, but you threatened to pull your alliances from the Moon if I did not. Do you remember that? Did you not know that all the Senshi had to go back to their families for an entire year, leaving the Royal Moon Family unprotected? That I had to leave my princess and FRIEND defenseless?!"

"Royal Moon Family. Can't you be a Senshi and protect the Royal MERCURY Family?"

Dalit sighed. This was an old argument that happened from the dawn of the Senshi. "I can't. You don't understand."

"But you say you're the Senshi of Mercury. Why can't you protect the Royal Family of it?"

"Look, this is how it goes: A Soldier is born and they take the responsibility. They call on their planet for power and are named after it. Their duty is to protect the Royal MOON Family and the Ginzuishou. In turn, when company, bad company, evil company, calls, the Royal MOON Family protects everyone else."

Her mother sighed. "That makes no sense."

"If you bothered to actually listen to a word I said, you would see it makes perfect sense!" she yelled, having had enough of her mother's baiting. "Now if you don't mind, I shall go train some more." She turned to leave.

"That's all you ever do and ever _did do. You couldn't be normal. You always had to be social with the guards. You spent more time with them than you did with your own family!" cried the Queen, rising from her seat on the lip of the fountain. _

Dalit stopped and slowly turned around. This was the argument that had driven her away from her home planet. "I talked with them because they _understood me. They are soldiers, I am a Soldier. We could understand one another, like you never could. Father never said I couldn't see them because __he understood; he was a soldier too. Sasha never condemned me because __she understood; she knew what I was and that I needed comfort from being with others like me. _You _never understood; I wasn't the perfect princess like Sasha so you wouldn't _bother_ to understand."_

Mercury turned and stalked back to her room. Opening her compact computer, she attempted to get it fixed. Over the past two years, she had tried _everything_. She gave a scream of frustration and threw it into the wall. It clattered against the floor. She buried her fingers in her hair. This was going to be one hell of a rough year. She just hoped the others were doing better than she was.

A small movement caught her attention. The door slowly cracked open. "Who's there?" she asked suspiciously.

There was a gulping sound and Ami stepped into the room. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Dalit blinked and smiled reassuringly. "What are you sorry for, hon?"

"I interrupted your sparing match. You could have been injured because of me."

_Oh, no, hon. You probably saved me from being injured_, she thought. "Don't worry about it."

Ami spotted the computer lying on the floor and picked it up, carrying it back to her aunt. "You dropped this."

Dalit scowled at it. "It doesn't matter because it doesn't work."

Ami sat on the bed and opened it. "What does it say?"

"Every time I try to scan, it says error."

While Mercury was great with technology, what Ami did with the compact computer was not even short of amazing. She handed it back to the older woman shyly, saying, "It was a simple problem with something you had scanned before. It completely locked your system up. All you had to do was delete the file."

Dalit's eyes widened as she took the computer. "Amazing. You have a true gift. Listen to me, Ami." She locked eyes with the two year old. "You have the spirit within you. You have the gift that belongs in a Soldier. I'm not saying you will be one and I wouldn't be surprised if you become one, but remember you have the ability to do anything you want. With the gifts you have, you surpass everyone here. Even me. Now go to Sasha and tell her not to worry."

She patted Ami's head and the little girl left the room. She didn't precisely walk, but she didn't run. Dalit sighed. She knew Ami didn't understand half of what she told her, but one day she hoped she would. And if Ami didn't become her successor then there was something seriously wrong in the universe that Dalit would have to fix.

She leaned back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. What would happen in the year? Would Ami fulfill all that Dalit knew she was capable of? The girl was very soft-spoken and her eyes were full of curiosity. What she had done with the Mercury computer not even Mercury could do. 

"I hope you realize your true potential, Ami," she whispered. "And I hope my friends will have a better year than I will."


	6. Chapter 05

**Chapter 5**

Phobos Deimos Castle, Mars 

Taila stood in front of her parents with a blank face. She had no idea what lay in store for her. The King and Queen smiled at her and she felt herself relax. Mars and the Moon had always been on good terms, as well as Venus and Jupiter. However, with the new Queen of Mercury, Dalit's mother, relations were estranged between the Moon and Mercury.

"Welcome home, Taila," said her father and hugged her. He then clapped her cousin on the shoulder. "Let's go get you settled." With a backward glance at his cousin, Ares let himself be led away.

The Senshi of Mars sighed. Things never changed. Her mother smiled gently at her daughter and put her arm around her shoulders. They both knew the King had hoped for a son, not a daughter.

"Do not worry," her mother told her. "He is still proud of you."

"Oh, I don't worry," she assured her. They shared a secret smile and wandered into the gardens. 

"What do you do on the Moon? We hardly ever hear from you."

Taila winced. She knew she didn't keep in contact like she should and it was her own fault. She just never found the time. "I'm sorry, I know I should call more." And without another word on that subject, she felt herself telling her mother everything. All that happened on the Moon for the past two years. 

When she came to her fire reading, she hesitated. "When I read the fire, I saw something terrible. I don't want to tell Serene because I'm not sure and it would hurt her either way, but I don't think Ares will survive the war," she said quietly.

Her mother was silent as they sat on a stone bench. She knew there was nothing she could say to her daughter to help her. She had no idea where her daughter got her 'reading' abilities from since she was about as psychic as a loaf of bread. She changed the subject instead.

"Would you like to change out of your fuku? We still have some of your dresses. Red, of course."

Taila cocked her head and thought. "Not really. I'm so used to my fuku that I don't feel comfortable in other things."

Her mother got a mischievous look on her face. "We built a new training ground and we have a new general over the guards. He's quite good, you know. He beat every other fighter we have here."

As expected, Taila jumped up from the bench. Giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek, she ran to the training grounds. Her mother just laughed quietly. She knew her daughter too well.

When she got there, a tall man was already there. She stood silent, sure he hadn't seen or heard her yet. She took the time to study him. He wore silver armor with a wine red jumpsuit under it. A sword was in his hand as he did some practice moves. His eyes were closed and his face a mask of concentration. His hair was light brown that went down to his broad shoulders.

She cleared her throat and he whirled around to face her. Their eyes locked and her red almost clashed with his purple. _Purple? Where'd he get eyes like that?_

"I'm Sailor Mars, Senshi of this planet. Who are you?"

He looked her over, straightened his shoulders, and answered, "Cirocco, General and commander of this planet's military."

Taila felt a smile curve her lips. "Where did you get your purple eyes from?"

"My mother was from Saturn. She doesn't know who her parents are. It was rumored she was a descendant from a Senshi, but that's all speculation." He shrugged.

"I also heard that there is no one here to best you. Care to try your hand against a _Senshi_?" she asked slyly.

Cirocco cocked his head. "All right."

He pulled up his sword. Taila smiled. "Mars Fire Inferno!" She held out her hands above the ground, one small stream of fire flowing from her palms.

With wide eyes, he jumped to the side as an entire wall of fire burst from the ground where he was standing previously. He glared at her. "No elemental attacks like that!"

Mars faked innocence. "You should have said something before or I wouldn't do this: Fire Lava Flow!"

What black hair that wasn't constrained against her head waved as if in a strong wind. Her face snapped up to the sky as red light shined up from the ground. She looked down and pointed at him.

With wide eyes, he looked above him. Lava fell from the sky straight towards him. He threw himself a few feet away and landed on his back. The lava scorched the earth, but left no lasting marks. He stood up and glared at her again. "I said no elemental attacks!"

Taila shrugged. "Fine. You obviously cannot best a Senshi in power combat. Let's see if you can't do better in physical combat."

They locked arms and locked eyes, trying to read the other's next move. Kicking him in the stomach, Mars backed away. He threw a punch and it connected with her jaw. She used the momentum of her head toss back and twirled around, punching him in the stomach and jaw. 

He picked her up and threw her across the training field and she landed on her shoulder and rolled up onto her feet. This continued for some hours.

When both were tired and hurting, Mars did something that was both brave and stupid. She dodged his kick and tackled him to the ground. They slammed against the earth and rolled, each trying to pin the other. 

Taila summoned the last dregs of her strength and flipped him onto his back. She straddled him to make sure he didn't move, assuming he could after the hours of fighting.

"I…win," she gasped. 

He glared at her and a smile formed on his lips. "I see. You're very good."

"I know. I'm the Senshi of Mars. We're notoriously good fighters. Your name means wind, huh? It suits you."

"What do you mean?"

"You moved almost as fast as the wind. I congratulate you." She stood up and held out to her hand to him. He took it and she pulled him to his feet. 

"Would you care to visit me later to discuss your training?" 

Mars cocked her head. If she didn't know better, he was asking to court her. She almost frowned. Did she really have time for a lover? Could she afford one, with the war coming up? "All right."

He bowed to her and left the training grounds. Taila watched him go, her thoughts in a frenzy of activity. The war was coming soon. Was he a part of the enemies? Her mother had said he was a new general. New at this point in time? When the war was going to break out in a year? She had once thought that a year was a long time, but now she realized just how short it really was.

She sighed at her thoughts and went to her room. Things were going to be rough in the year ahead. And how did Cirocco fit into all of it? Mars almost laughed at her thoughts. How did he always get into her head? Was she really concerned about the fact that he could be a spy or was it the fact that he was incredibly handsome?

Taila stared into the mirror and took down her hair to brush it. It fell down to her calves. She hadn't realized it had grown so long in such a short time. Sitting down at a chair in front of the vanity, she picked up the brush. It was very ornate with rubies set on the back and golden all over. 

She looked around her room. So many memories that she had forgotten. Yet she felt sad. The room held all her old memories, but none of the new ones. The memories of her princess and friends, the memories of the Senshi. 

Mars felt a tear creep to her eye. She would miss them. Sometimes a year could seem so short and yet so long. It would seem short with the upcoming war she had seen, but it would seem interminable without her friends and she didn't think the others' families would like a surprise call from another Senshi, just what they wanted their children away from.

She brushed her hair, thinking all the time. As she tied it all into a large bun and ponytail, she couldn't help staring at her reflection. Had she always looked so tired and pale? Had she always had that deep sadness and anxiety in her eyes?

Impulsively, she put in a holographic call back to the Moon, hoping to see a familiar face. Not that her family's faces weren't familiar, but they weren't the faces she wanted to see.

Luna's form appeared. "Yes, Senshi Mars? Is there something wrong? Did you have another vision of the war? Is it coming closer?"

Taila could recognize the signs of stress and worry in Luna that she recognized in herself. She smiled reassuringly. "No, Luna, I didn't read the fire and you may call me Taila. I was hoping to talk to Serene."

Luna looked surprised for a moment. "No, Taila, I'm sorry, but the Princess Serenity is with the King and Queen. I don't think it means good news," she added softly.

Taila sat back in her chair. "Do you know what the meeting is about?"

"No I don't and it worries me. From what I could gather from tones and facial expressions, I think it's about the Ginzuishou." 

"The Ginzuishou?!" she gasped, leaning forward again. "Did something happen?!"

"Well Taila, when all the Senshi were teleported away to their homes, King Dari upped the guard. A day after there was an attack on Princess Serenity."

"Serene! But why?" Mars spluttered. "She's only the princess right now. She doesn't have access to the Ginzuishou at this time! Why her?"

Luna could only shrug and shake her head. "I don't know. I think this upcoming war that you said will happen is deeper than anything we can understand. I can't explain why I feel this way, I just do. Maybe this war is just the calm before the storm."

Taila stared off into space and said a moment later, "I'll do a fire-reading tonight. Mars out," she added and shut off the call. She leaned back into her chair. She had no choice, but to do a fire reading. If Luna was right, then everyone's lives could depend on it. If she found anything or even if she didn't, she would call Luna back and let her know her findings.

"Oh, damn," she muttered as she remembered her promise to Cirocco. "I'm supposed to meet him tonight." Taila sat in silence and indecision. She really wanted to talk to him, perhaps see if he worked for the enemy, but she had her duty as a Senshi. What did she do? Her fire reading or talk to the new general?

A thought surfaced. Both could be classified as Senshi business. If she went to talk with him to see if he was a spy, it didn't matter if she enjoyed it. That would have to be a plus. And after she talked with him, she could down to the fire room made for her so she could read the fire then. 

But she couldn't help the small thread of guilt. She _should_ do the fire-reading first. _But what about Cirocco? Maybe if I blow him off this time, then I won't get another chance to talk to him. He could not be as open later if I don't talk to him now. I shouldn't arouse his suspicions if he is a spy. _Her reasoning worked and she didn't acknowledge the thrill of meeting with him that ran through her body.

A knock on her door drew her from her contemplation. Standing up, she opened it. Cirocco stood there, resplendent in his armor. He smiled wryly. "I see we both don't let pleasure interrupt our duty."

Taila looked down at herself and realized he was talking about her fuku. She blushed slightly, but didn't answer him. "Where shall we go to talk?"

His smile grew. "Why don't we go down to the gardens?"

She raised an eyebrow. That was where lovers often went at night and, with a quick look out her window, she verified that it _was _night. "All right."

As they walked, they made small talk, asking about each other's pasts. He was very free with his. His mother had moved off Saturn to Mars because she couldn't stand the thought of staying in one place all her life and she'd always heard about Mars. The Queen of Saturn at that time had been from Mars and she never stopped talking about her home. 

When the opportunity to go to Mars came, she had taken it. She had stayed in a few places, but soon had nowhere to go. That was how she had met Cirocco's father. They had met walking down the street. She did not have the Mars look about her and that drew him to her. They hit it off right away and within a few months, were married.

Cirocco was a simple peasant baby. At an early age, he enlisted in the Mars army. Because of his prowess in battle and his wits in the classroom, he had risen fast. When the previous general before him died in a skirmish, he had been chosen as the next leading commander. His parents had died about a year ago.

"I told you my life story. What's yours?"

Taila looked away from him and into the sky. "I was born on Mars as well, as Princess Taila. When I was about two, I showed remarkable abilities with fire. It didn't hurt me at all. Well, at least not much. When I was five, I began to have visions that were completely confusing. I didn't get much sleep at that age because that's when I began to get them. At six, I began to sit in front of the fireplace after I woke up or when I had had a vision or even when I was mixed up about things. My father and mother say I went into a trance, sitting in front of the fire. They would always put me to bed. Then one day, in mid-day, I sat in front of the main fireplace in my parent's room with Ares visiting. They were sitting in chairs and talking. 

"My father got up and went to the door. Someone had knocked. I pulled out of the trance in time to say 'look out!'. The man had a knife in his hand and without my warning, he would have killed my father. When the assassin was taken away, all my family stared at me and asked how I had known. I told them that the fire had told me. They immediately called the current Senshi of Mars back on the Moon and asked her to come without delay. When she tested me, she said I had the ability to communicate with fire. It would tell me important things."

"Was the Senshi of Mars your aunt?"

"No. I wasn't related to her. She was the bastard daughter of a Noble. The reason they called her immediately is that the Senshi of any planet is highly respected by the Royal Family and most of the time, can be their chief advisors. When I was eight, the Senshi of Mars called me as one of the candidates for the next Soldier. My parents initially protested, but they let me go to the Moon with my nanny. I was among four other girls to be tested. Queen Serenity called on the god Ares and he chose me. So from then on, I became Princess Taila, Soldier of Mars."

"Sounds like a much more interesting past than mine," he said lightly.

Taila glared at him. "A past is not supposed to be interesting or exciting! It defines who and what we are." She pulled her arm from his. 

"Forgive me, I did not mean to offend."

Mars looked at him and saw that he was indeed serious about his apology. "I accept your apology."

They walked in silence for a while. As they reached a fountain, Cirocco pulled Taila into his arms. She looked at him in surprise and suspicion. 

"Princess Taila, Soldier of Mars, would you accept my attentions as well as my apology?"

Mars looked away for a moment. Now was the moment of truth. Did she really want a relationship with this man? He could be the enemy. Even if he weren't, the thought would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She turned back to him, intending to tell him no, when his lips descended on hers. Her head swam and her eyes instinctively closed. She moved closer to him and his tongue parted her lips. The moonlight shown down on them.

When Taila awoke, she was in her room, lying on her side. She was not wearing her Senshi uniform and there was a strange warmth at her back. She turned around and her suspicions were confirmed. Cirocco, sleeping peacefully.

Mars slipped from the bed and pulled on a silk, red robe. She headed down to the fire room. The room was still lovingly cared for. _Mother. She must have taken care of it herself_. No servants would ever enter the room, their suspicious natures always aroused whenever it was mentioned. Taila felt warmth in her chest and she smiled. How she loved her mother. 

Kneeling in front of the fire, she cast her essence into the blaze. Images surfaced, Cirocco prominent in most. Finally she narrowed down one image.

Cirocco was standing alone, light shining on one half of him and the rest in darkness. He held a cruel and sad expression on his face. His sword dripped with blood and the Moon was red behind him. 

Taila pulled from the fire, disturbed. Did this vision mean that he fought _for_ the Moon and was sad that he couldn't save it or did it mean that he fought _against _the Moon and was sad because…

Mars knew she couldn't go back to bed without calling Luna. It was still deep night. But she couldn't place the call in her room; it would wake Cirocco. Slipping into the war room next to her fire room, she called the Moon on a holographic message. 

No one answered at first and she studied her reflection in the glass, technological maps on the walls. (A.N. Like the base on Hoth in Star Wars, the Empire Returns). She looked awake and grim-faced.

Luna appeared, looking tired and grumpy. When she saw the Soldier, she straightened. She hissed at someone behind her to be quiet. Taila assumed it was Artemis.

"Yes, Taila?"

"I did a fire reading, Luna." She quietly explained about Cirocco's presence and past. Then she described her vision. 

"There's something more here, isn't there?" asked Luna shrewdly.

"Well, I think I'm in love with Cirocco and I don't know what to do. If he's the enemy, I know I'll have to kill him and I don't want to do that."

"Don't jump to conclusions," Luna soothed. "He may not be with the enemy. Just be on guard slightly whenever you're around him okay?"

"All right. Mars out."

Taila switched off the call and leaned against the wall. Luna was right; she shouldn't jump to conclusions. It would do no good. All she had to do was remain on her guard slightly and everything would be all right. Wouldn't it?


	7. Chapter 06

**Chapter 6**

Io Castle, Jupiter 

Tiaret ran through the streets, exhilarated that she was home again, even though she should be and wanted to be back on the Moon. She was not heading in any particular direction, but she soon found herself in front of the palace. 

She stopped and realized it had been instinct to run here. Instinct she had thought she had suppressed. She smiled. Wait until her family saw her! All they thought was she was spending a lot of time on the Moon. 

Suddenly Jupiter lost her smile. They might not be so thrilled since their last meeting, eight years ago. She had slipped away in the middle of the night, leaving with her 'lover' because her parents didn't like him. She had been in her rebellious years and had simply, like all teenagers, assumed that they wanted to quench her individuality. 

Shrugging, Tiaret entered her palace. She found no one there. No guards, no servants, no family. She started to walk down the corridor, but still found or heard no one. Breaking into a run, she went in search of her family. 

At the other end of the castle she finally found someone. A teenage maid was cleaning the walls. She gave Jupiter a surprised look. "Why are you running?"

"Where is everyone? The Royal Jupiter Family?" she gasped out.

The girl gave her a strange look, as if she was crazy. "They're in their quarters. The Lady Queen Jupiter is giving birth to another child."

"What do you mean?"

"Well after the crown princess ran away, the Royal Family was devastated. They tried to call the Soldier of Jupiter, but were informed she had been killed. Well, the Princess Jupiter had always gone to the Moon a lot so they assumed whatever had killed the Soldier had killed the princess as well. They tried to have another child for years and the Lady Queen Jupiter finally conceived. Everyone was ordered from the palace except for a few handfuls of servants who were needed. We're waiting for the news."

Tiaret thanked the girl and ran to her parent's room. Without so much as a knock, she barged in. Everyone but the Queen stared at her, for the Queen was asleep, having successfully given birth to a son. 

The midwife attempted to get rid of her. "Go! How dare you barge into the room?"

An advisor grabbed her arm. "Don't you realize who that is?"

Tiaret held her breath, hoping they recognized her. 

"That's the Soldier of Jupiter!"

Her breath let out in a disappointed sigh.

"But we were told you were killed!" the King exclaimed.

Jupiter hung her head for a second then raised it high with pride. "The Soldier you speak of is dead. I am the current Senshi of Jupiter, Princess Tiaret."

There was silence in the small room until the King roared for everyone to leave. His voice woke the Queen and she looked around fuzzily. "What's going on, dear?" 

Tiaret and the King didn't answer at first. It was only the Royal Family, their missing daughter, and the newborn baby in that room and it was silent for some time.

"What's going on?" she repeated, getting her strong voice back and sitting up. 

"You are not."

Tiaret's head dropped a little and she didn't answer.

"Are not what?" the Queen demanded.

Jupiter touched her tiara and her fuku disappeared with a flash of green light. Tiaret stood, wearing a dark green dress that had a low neckline and was decorated with lightning bolts.

"Tiaret," the Queen whispered. 

The King sat down weakly. "I don't believe it."

"I am the Senshi for Jupiter, father, mother. I'm sorry I ran away eight years ago. When I got on the Moon, they were having the trials for the new Senshi. I was chosen for Jupiter."

"And what of your lover?" the King demanded harshly. "You left your kingdom and family for him, what of him?"

Tiaret winced and looked away. "I am no longer associated with him. I'm so sorry, but I will not get on my knees to beg for your forgiveness. I am a Soldier."

"So what my sister was always telling me was true. You _were_ the Soldier of Jupiter," the Queen muttered.

"_Am_," Tiaret corrected. "Not was. I _am _the Soldier of Jupiter. But I don't understand why you sent for me if you didn't think I was alive."

"They didn't, I did," said a voice behind her. 

In instinct, Tiaret whirled around, her henshin wand in her hand in a second. The woman smiled. She was shorter than most Jovians. Her brown hair was cut around her ears and her green eyes sparkled.

"Aunt Asney," she said. 

The woman nodded her head. "I sent for you so you and your parents could talk. I think eight years is long enough for emotions to cool."

The King stood up abruptly. "I cannot believe you, Tiaret. You abandon your kingdom for eight years for a man unworthy of you and then do not stay with him and come back expecting a warm welcome."

Tiaret held up her henshin wand and cried, "Jupiter Lightning Power, Make-up!" With a flash, lightning crashed around her in a tepee shape. Her fuku materialized in another flash.

Jupiter turned angrily to her father. "I didn't come expecting anything! I only came here because if I didn't, you would pull your alliance from the Moon! With the coming year, for everyone to survive, we will need the alliances."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

Asney explained. "You see, all the Senshi have been called to their homes for a year. The Royalty of Neptune said that the Moon had been holding their children, keeping them from visiting by giving them unreasonable training sessions. Anyone who has half a brain will know that isn't true, but most parents really wanted to see their children and didn't know about how to get them back without going with the Royalty of Neptune to threaten to pull the alliance the planets have with the Moon. I knew we would never pull the alliance, but I cooperated with the ruse to get Tiaret here."

Her mother stood up and hugged her. "I missed you so much. I'm glad your home." She pulled away and looked expectantly at her husband.

The King did not move. Jupiter walked past her aunt and into the corridor. She was there for a year and she didn't think even a hundred years would help her father's feelings for her. He hated what she had done and there would be no changing of his position.

She headed for her bedroom. It was dark and silent, but well kept. Obviously her aunt and mother had not given up on her as her father had. She switched on the lights and saw the room sparkle. Her eyes widened. All along the walls were stars and lightning carved into the dark green stone with small emeralds.

Tiaret found a note on her desk. It was from her aunt, saying this was how she wished her a happy return home. Thunder sounded outside the room and she looked out the window. The sky was almost black. Storms on her planet were violent and she loved them. Lightning lit the sky and the rain fell harder, almost sounding like hail.

Only this time, she did not love the storm. Her sad eyes stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was heavily tanned from the sun in her younger years, but even for her she looked pale. Tears formed in her brown eyes and she pulled her hair from its ponytail and it fell to her the bottom of her ears. She switched off the lights, not wanting to see anything about the room, and walked back to the window, standing in front of it. In the dark of the room, her hair looked black, but she knew it to be truly dark blood red. Her pale face was sad and scared looking. She knew the war was coming, but she didn't want to face it. She knew she had to, because if she didn't, many innocent people would die.

The door behind her opened, but she didn't turn around. Her aunt laid a hand on her shoulder and Tiaret looked down at her. Asney just barely cleared her shoulder. 

"Why do you have the lights off? Don't you like the way I fixed your room?" she whispered.

"I love it, but I just wanted to watch the storm in darkness." She turned back to the window.

"What did you mean with the coming years that we would need the alliances?"

"Aunt Asney, when the year ends there will be a war. Unless we have the alliances, everyone is dead."

"How do you know?"

"The Soldier of Mars, Taila, has an ability to see things in fire. The future, sometimes. She said two years ago that there was to be a war in three years. We upped our training, but in the most crucial year we were called to stay home. When we go back to the Moon, we will be in the year that the war is to be held. I have a bad feeling for Serene. I don't know what will happen to her. With this last year before the war, anything could happen."

Her aunt didn't say anything and they watched the rain together in silence. It did not let up. Asney knew she had to talk to her sister and brother-in-law. They had to know what Tiaret had told her.

"You know your father loves you." 

"No, I don't. He made it perfectly clear that he does not approve of me any longer," Jupiter said tightly.

Asney chuckled and said softly, "Do you know who he reminds me of?" Tiaret shook her head. "He reminds me of you."

She turned to her aunt in surprise. Asney nodded. "He has your attitude. Everything about him reminds me of you. You are so much the same that you clash. Don't worry, he will come around."

Tiaret shrugged, acting as if she didn't care. She did care, but she didn't think he would ever come around to her presence again. His opinion meant everything to her, which was why his gruff and unforgiving attitude had hurt her so much. She loved her father and had connected with him much more than with her mother. Her mother was a lady and she was anything but. 

She could remember going out with her father and they would come back to the palace covered in scratches and dirt. They would constantly practice fight. They were always roughhousing and her father had never scolded her for running through the halls.

_He'll never come around. I've disappointed him too greatly for him to ever accept me again. I've disappointed myself as well. I hadn't thought I would ever ruin my life with my family for a man. _Tiaret felt like crying. Why would she have thought her father would welcome her with open arms? It was him that she had looked forward to seeing again the most.

But her wishing was for naught. He had not welcomed her with open arms. She felt her aunt remove her hand and the door open and close. She knew she was alone again. Knowing no one would see, the mighty Soldier of Jupiter let her forehead rest against the glass of the window and cried, her hair falling around her face. Lightning flashed in the background and thunder echoed in her ears. The storm continued.


	8. Chapter 07

**Chapter 7**

Magellan Castle, Venus 

Stella brushed her blonde hair from her eyes. The weight of it was nothing to her anymore. It went down to the middle of her back, but she was told it made her look gorgeous. Her bangs fell around the sides of her face and she tucked them behind her ears.

A little girl bowled her over as she left her room. The girl's blonde hair was even brighter than her own. The little girl barely managed a hasty sorry before taking off again. Stella chuckled and stood up. She couldn't wait to see her mother.

When she entered the throne room, the men around the Queen backed away. Her mother smiled; she liked flirting with the nobles and such, but her heart would always remain to her husband, who had died a year after her daughter was born.

"Stella! How good it is to see you!"

Stella jogged up to her mother and gave her a peck on the cheek. The Queen of Venus dismissed the servants and nobles and soon mother and daughter were alone. 

Venus studied her mother. She looked like Aphrodite herself. Her blonde hair reached down to her feet and was in no way confined. Her sky blue eyes had small laughter lines around them. The only time Stella had ever seen her mother sad was when her father had died. 

Except for the back wall, three of the throne room walls, painted a beautiful gold, were arches. Through the left arches was a pool, through the front arches was a hallway which she came through that had a red carpet running along it, and the through the right arches was a garden.

The Queen of Venus led her daughter through the right arches and into the gardens, full of yellow roses. "How have you been doing? Have you found a love yet?"

Stella blushed. "Mother, people don't talk about that kind of thing."

"So I see you have. Who is he?"

Her blush deepened. "He's a she."

"Really? Who?"

"Caden, Senshi of Neptune."

Her mother winced. "I know the Royal Neptune Family and they would not be happy to hear that."

"Are you?" she whispered. 

"Am I what?"

"Are you disappointed that my soulmate is a woman and a Soldier?"

The Queen of Venus took Stella's shoulders in her hands and turned her daughter to face her. "You listen to me, Stella. Love comes in many forms. Your soulmate was born a woman. So? As long as you love the person with all your heart, it doesn't matter what gender they are. And the fact that she is a Senshi is a good thing since it means you can see her all the time."

"What about Caden's parents then?"

"Well, some people don't understand. I mean, not all of us are born on the planet of love, you know. The Royal Neptune Family is very traditional and Caden has just challenged that tradition by not only being a Soldier, but also by loving a woman and someone they did not choose for her. Eventually they will see. Eventually."

Stella looked away and they resumed walking. She remembered her earlier incident and asked her mother about it. 

"What did the girl look like?"

"Well, she had very bright blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a speed that would outclass the god Hermes."

Her mother laughed. "That's Minako, your cousin's daughter. She loves the place and can run around it all day and never get tired. She keeps all of us in shape by running after her."

"How old is she?"

"Three."

Stella whistled. "That's impressive. She would be a choice candidate for a Senshi."

"Well why don't you talk to your cousin about it? He would be glad to see you."

"What happened to Demetrius' wife?" she asked curiously. She hadn't been to Magellan in five years, when her cousin had married someone from Pluto.

"I'm sorry to say she died in childbirth. Demetrius was very upset about it, but he poured a lot of his attentions onto Minako and loves her dearly. He practically dotes on her."

Stella frowned. "She's spoiled?"

"Not in the least. He loves her to death, but also has taught discipline. With some help from the godmother," she added.

"Who is the godmother?"

"His sister."

"Good gods," she exclaimed, startled. "Aracely is as strict as a textbook! I'm surprised she isn't a proper little girl," she added dryly.

"Stella, Aracely isn't a bad person. You two just don't click. She's not really that strict with people who know her. It's just a front. Try getting to know her."

Venus rolled her eyes. She'd rather get along with Caden's parents. They would be warmer to her than Aracely. Her mother just didn't know what had happened between them. It had been her attitude, partly, that had Stella always putting off visits.

Unfortunately, on her way to see Demetrius, she ran into Aracely. They literally ran into each other as Venus turned the corner. Aracely took one look at her fuku and frowned. Her dress left a huge amount to imagination since it completely covered her body. 

Stella rolled her eyes. "Hello, Aracely."

She stiffened and said politely, "Good day, Stella. Where are you going?"

"To see Demetrius."

"No you're not!" Aracely blurted out. Stella raised her eyebrow; that was hardly lady-like. She blushed and continued on more calmly, "He isn't available at the moment."

"He'll see his cousin, believe me," she replied icily. Venus attempted to brush past her, but Aracely grabbed her arm. Her eyes held a pained look.

"I'm sorry about what I said before. I truly didn't mean it."

Stella pulled her arm from her grasp and shrugged. "Hey, you have your opinion and I have mine. You may think that I'm a lesbian slut, but that doesn't mean that everyone else or I think so."

Aracely winced. "I swear I didn't mean it! I was just surprised and was having a very bad day that day. My fiancée had just broken up with me for my arch nemesis."

"I forgive you," Stella whispered. She truly did, for it really didn't mean anything to her anymore. She had heard it so often from Caden's parents that the words ceased to hurt. 

"You do?" asked Aracely skeptically.

Venus quickly outlined why and Aracely looked shocked and angry. "I can't believe they said that to you!"

She shrugged again. "It doesn't matter. Look, since your godmother to Minako, I guess you should be present when I talk with Demetrius."

As they walked down the hall, Aracely attempted to find out what Stella was going to say to her cousin, but came away with nothing. She sighed. She would just have to wait. 

Demetrius was playing with his daughter when his cousin approached him. With a glad cry, he jumped up and hugged her. Stella stiffened for half a second and then returned his embrace. She had been unprepared for that sort of greeting. Minako looked on, curious.

"Demetrius, we have to talk," Venus told him as he let her go. Her serious face puzzled him.

"Of course." He turned to his daughter. "Minako, could you play elsewhere for a while? I have to talk to your aunt in private."

Minako didn't say anything and she looked at her father, aunt, and godmother. Finally, she tore from the room at high speed, barely missing legs. 

Stella, Aracely, and Demetrius sat down next to a desk. "What?"

She took a deep breath and described her encounter with Minako. Demetrius held up his hands. "I'm sorry about that, I'll talk to her. She won't do it again."

Venus looked confused for a moment then it cleared. "No, that isn't what I wanted to talk about. I was just describing how I met her. Why I came here is to tell you that you should seriously consider having Minako tested for being a Senshi in a couple of years. When she's eight. She is a great candidate for it. She has so many strengths that I can't even begin to describe to you."

Demetrius and Aracely exchanged glances. "Well we don't want her getting hurt."

Venus sighed. She had to make them understand, but she didn't see how. "Just think about it, okay?"

"So how long are you going to be staying this time?" asked Aracely.

"A year."

"A year!" they exclaimed. 

"Why?" asked Demetrius. "You've never stayed more than three days on any visits before."

Stella quickly outlined why she was here. Exclamations of protest sounded in the room. "Venus would never pull from the alliance with the Moon!" cried out Aracely. "Every planet owes too much to the Moon to even consider pulling from it."

"Not Neptune," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Demetrius asked quietly.

"The Royal Neptune Family did this year thing for all the Senshi to visit their families because of me. You see, Caden, the Senshi of Neptune and I are soulmates and we have chosen to be with each other till the end of time. They don't like this so they put up a fuss and the other planets went along with it."

Demetrius wrapped his arms around his cousin. "Don't worry; everything will work out in the end. Even the war."

"I hope you're right," Venus murmured.


	9. Chapter 08

**Chapter 8**

Moon Castle, Moon 

Princess Serenity waited anxiously on the docks where the spaceships would dock, carrying her friends. The year had been long and hard and in her opinion, it was a miracle that she was alive. For some reason, the enemy was always attacking _her_, as if she was the piece to the puzzle.

She saw the sign of Jupiter, an elaborate four, on an incoming ship and she knew Tiaret was back. When the door opened, she barely had time to register the body moving toward her when she felt herself twirled in a bear hug. 

"I've missed you Serene!" Tiaret exclaimed, setting her down. "It was hell being away from you and the Moon! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm just waiting for all the Senshi to arrive."

Jupiter turned to her ship and waved. The princess of the Moon saw a beautiful, short woman waving back. "I hope everything turns out all right," she called and then the door closed and the ship took off.

"Who was that?" 

"My aunt Asney. She arranged for me to go back home. My parents thought I was dead," she whispered quietly.

Serene touched her friend's arm. "What's wrong?"

"Remember when I told you how I came to be here?" She nodded. "Well, when they tried to call the Senshi of Jupiter, they were told she was dead. They thought whatever had killed our predecessors had killed me as well. My mother was glad to see me, but my father was not."

"But his opinion means so much to you!"

"The year was hard on me. He didn't like what I had done and he will never forgive me. We hardly spoke during the year. Aunt Asney and mother insist he's coming around, but I don't think so."

Their hair blew in the wind as another ship docked. The sign on the side of the hull proclaimed it to be from Mercury. The door opened and bickering flowed out. They both recognized one of the voices as that of Dalit's. 

"I've had enough of this conversation! I've told you over and over and I won't tell you again! Leave me alone! I won't give up being a Senshi! You berated me throughout the year and my entire trip here and you wonder why I don't want to visit!"

There was the sound of heels hitting the metal floor and in a moment, Dalit came bursting from the ship. At once, her arms wrapped around Tiaret and Serene's necks. She buried her face into the tall Jovian's shoulder. Her own shoulders shook.

Tiaret, who was very close to Dalit no matter how much she teased her, asked in worry, "What's wrong?"

Dalit quietly explained. "I spent the entire year fighting with my mother over being a Senshi. It was just plain excruciating! She never let up and never tried to see my point of view!"

Serene and Tiaret looked up at the ship long enough to see a wisp of dark blue hair and blue eyes disappear as the door closed. They did not ask who it was at that moment, seeing as Dalit was so upset about her mother. 

After a moment, Mercury pulled away and wiped her eyes. She tried to smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

They spent an hour talking, waiting for the next spaceship to arrive, and catching up on one another's lives. There was a roar of an engine and they looked up. There was no symbol on the side. 

The ship didn't even land. The loading door opened and after a wave into the ship, Kitenis jumped down onto the wooden dock. The ship took off.

"What's going on?" asked Dalit.

"Well my folks, though they liked my visit, tended to ignore me. So when it came time to leave, they didn't remember that I actually had to have a _ship_ to leave on. So I found a merchant ship leaving and booked a ride with him. We made damn good time, if you ask me," replied the Soldier of Uranus.

"What happened at your home?" asked Serene.

Kitenis shrugged. "The usual since the last time I visited and lived there nine years ago. For about day, I was the center of my parents' attentions and the next day and for the rest of the year, I was ignored. The one good thing is I met one of my brother's daughters. She would be a perfect candidate for Senshi. You should see the girl's strength! She's got to be five and her strength equaled mine in _Senshi_ form! Her name is Haruka."

The other three whistled in shock. "Come to think of it," Dalit said, "I found a very good candidate myself." She explained about Ami and the others agreed with her; she would be a good choice.

The roar of a ship caught their attention. The symbol on the side was a little difficult to make out, but when it got closer, it was obviously from Pluto. The color of the symbol was so close to the black of the hull that it blended in well.

Jalae stepped out sedately. Spotting her friends, she walked up to them. Giving each a hug, she sighed. "It sure is good to be back."

"You know, Dalit and Kitenis found good candidates to be a successor. Did you?" asked Tiaret.

Jalae hesitated. "No," she said finally. 

"Jalae," Kitenis said warningly, with a smile on her face. "If you don't tell us what you don't want to say, I'll just have to…" She paused for dramatic emphasis. "TICKLE you to death!" She raised her hands warningly.

Jalae and the others giggled. "All right, I did. I will go back in a year or two and make her the Time Guardian."

"Already?" asked Dalit in shock.

"I saw my successor in the Time Gate and we all know that Time Guardians have to be inducted before the others in a private ceremony."

The conversation was so intriguing that they did not notice another ship dock until a form hurtled from it at top speed. It slammed into Jalae so hard that the Soldier of Pluto fell face first into the wooden boards of the deck.

They pulled the Senshi to her feet. Jalae turned around and saw Neptune. She had tears on her face and her silver eyes were blood red from extensive crying. Her hair was disarranged and she looked absolutely depressed. She hugged her knees to her body.

The other Senshi knelt down next to her and pulled her to a sitting position. "What's the matter?" asked Serene in anxiety.

"I'm just so happy to be back!" she sobbed. "You all have no idea what it was like there!"

"I bet I can understand," Dalit muttered, thinking of the constant fighting.

"No you can't!" she cried. "I was completely ostracized by my own family! The only one who would talk to me was a little girl of five. Her name was Michiru. She's my brother's daughter. Whenever he caught her _near _me, much less talking to me, he would drag her away! I have no idea why she kept coming back. Every time I suggested leaving, they threatened to pull the alliance. The only reason I'm here is that they couldn't threaten to pull the alliance because the year was up and the agreement was only for a year. It was horrible!"

Caden broke down into quiet sobs again and the other Senshi hugged her and attempted to make her feel better. But the only one the Senshi of Neptune wanted to have their arms around her was Stella's. 

The Soldiers got her on her feet and calmed down so she no longer cried. Her eyes were still red and her hair was still a mess. Serene smiled gently and pulled out a brush from a bag at her feet that no one had seen or noticed. She softly brushed her friend's hair into place. Caden smiled a thank you.

When Neptune saw the next ship bearing the sign of Venus, she almost broke down again. During the year, she had been plagued by worry that Stella would break away from her. Love someone else. It had been their relationship that had gotten her through the torturous twelve months captive of her home planet.

As soon as Stella stepped from the ship, her eyes roamed for Caden. Seeing Caden's distraught condition, she broke into a run to her lover. 

"What's the matter?" she asked in concern.

Caden wrapped her arms around Stella and sobbed the story and her worries into her shoulder. Stella, more than a little shocked at how badly her family had overreacted to their relationship, could only say over and over, "It's all right, Caden."

Caden pulled away and looked into Venus' calm, hazel eyes that held such love for her. "You didn't—" she faltered.

"No. I will always love you, no matter what."

They kissed and hugged one more time. The other Senshi smiled, seeing that Caden was more relaxed. It was her relationship with Stella that allowed her to get through anything.

"How did your visit with your family go, Stella?" asked Tiaret.

"It was wonderful, thank you. I met up with a small girl named Minako, a great candidate for Venus. However, I don't think I convinced my cousin to let her be tested."

"Who are we missing?" Kitenis asked. 

"Tacy and Taila," Serene said quietly.

"And Ares?" asked Tiaret slyly.

Serene blushed and nodded. "I need to talk to you all about something when Tacy and Taila get here."

Concerned, they agreed. Silence reigned as another ship approached the dock. It was obvious they all were anxious to be back on the Moon for the ships were coming with minutes of each other. The symbol on the hull announced it to be from Saturn.

Tacy jumped onto the deck in excitement. "Great, I'm glad you all are here. I didn't want to be here all by myself." Her hair bounced side to side as she ran up to meet her friends, giving indiscriminant hugs. She twirled around. "I love it here. Look at the sky, it's so beautiful. Everything looks greater now that I've been away from it for a year!"

"Did something happen on Saturn?" asked Serene. Tacy had never shown that much excitement in anything that they could remember.

Saturn sobered instantly. "Well, a week into the visit, my parents were assassinated. My thirteen year old brother is taking over the throne," she said quietly. "I spent my entire visit protecting him from assassins and usurpers than I did actually enjoying myself."

The ship from Mars landed and Taila walked slowly from the ship. Her face was concerned and as soon as she saw Princess Serenity she broke into a stumbling run and grabbed her around the neck, hugging her. "I'm so glad you're all right," she whispered.

"What do you mean, Taila?" Kitenis asked suspiciously.

Taila pulled away and looked sadly at her friends. "We have to talk."

"How was your visit?" asked Serene as they walked to the princess's room.

"It was pleasant enough, I guess," the Soldier of Mars said, thinking about Cirocco.

They closed the door and stood in silence for a moment. "Who goes first?" asked Serene.

"You," was the unanimous reply from the eight women.

Serene started by telling of the assassination attempts. "Mother called me into the room that holds the Ginzuishou more than once over the past year. She had me commune with it. She seems to think that if I do, I can see who's doing this. I didn't."

Caden sat on the bed with her arms wrapped around Stella's waist. Jalae and Tacy made themselves comfortable on the floor. Kitenis, Tiaret, Taila, and Dalit plopped down into chairs. Serene sat on the bed.

"I think this war is more than we had anticipated," Taila said. "This war could be just the beginning of something. Why would you attack Princess Serenity unless there was some thing she might do in the future when she has the Ginzuishou? Obviously someone has gotten themselves a sage and saw Serene doing something that they didn't like. What better way of stopping it than killing her before it starts?"

"Did you see something in the fire, Taila?" asked Kitenis.

Mars hesitated. "When I went home, my mother told me they had appointed a new general at this most crucial time. Just before the war would start. I was suspicious of him from the start and still am. However, I love him. We started a relationship. The day I went home, that night I did a fire reading after meeting him and…making love. I saw him, half in darkness, and half in light. His face was sad and cruel. Behind him was the Moon, looking like someone had painted it red. I love him, and I not sure how I feel when I say that I'm pregnant with his child."

There was silence in the room. Taila met the eyes of all her friends. "I don't know if he is a spy or not. I have done a number of fire readings and all I ever see is that scene. The first night I called Luna and told her. She told me not to jump to conclusions. His past is as normal as can be, I guess." She quickly outlined what he had told her. 

"You're right, it is as normal as can be, and uninteresting," Tacy muttered, tipping her head back to look at the ceiling. "He could be. We'll just have to watch what we say around him."

Kitenis turned to Serene. "Why did you blush when I mentioned Ares?"

Princess Serenity blushed again. "Well, you see, over the course of the year, Ares visited from Mars, even though Taila could not. Well…I'm kind of…this is embarrassing…pregnant as well with Ares' child."

"Anybody else pregnant that we should know about?" asked Dalit flippantly.

Tiaret and Kitenis blushed. Dalit stared at them. "I didn't mean that for real! Don't tell me you both are!"

Tiaret stood up abruptly and then sat down just as quickly. "No, I'm not."

Dalit, skeptical, scanned her with her computer. The others looked at her. "No, she isn't."

"Hey," Jalae exclaimed. "It works!"

"Huh?" Dalit looked down at the computer. "Oh, yeah." She quickly explained how Ami had fixed it.

"Now, why did you blush when Dalit asked that question, Tiaret?" asked Stella.

Tiaret blushed again. "Well, I'm not pregnant, but I found a really nice guy and I wasn't sure if I was pregnant or not."

"Ah. Now, Kitenis," said Caden, turning to the Soldier of Uranus.

"What?"

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Pregnant."

A pause.

"Would you believe me if I said no?"

"No."

"Thought not. It was worth a try, though. Yes, I am."

Dalit stood up. "Kitenis, Taila, detransform. I want to know how far along you are. The fuku disrupts my readings for this kind of thing and it will give the illusion you aren't anyway to protect against that kind of attack."

Kitenis and Taila detransformed. It turned out that Kitenis was about a two months pregnant and Taila two weeks. Dalit then turned to Serene. "Up, you. I want to scan."

"But I don't wear a fuku. You should be able to tell."

Dalit rolled her eyes. "Just humor me here, okay?"

Serene shrugged and stood up. Dalit punched in a few numbers and pronounced, "Serene you are one month pregnant. Be careful. We don't want to lose you or the baby."

"Okay."

"I wonder when the war will start," Tacy murmured, looking at the sky through one of the windows. 

Jalae and Taila locked eyes. "It will start in three weeks," Jalae whispered.

The Soldiers whirled around and stared at her. "Why couldn't you have told us that earlier? Who is the enemy? Why are they attacking?"

Pluto held up her hands. "I can only tell you when and I'm not even supposed to say that. I'm bending a lot of rules to tell you that, so don't press me, please?" she begged.

Tiaret looked out the window. "Three weeks. We'll be ready."


	10. Chapter 09

**Chapter 9**

Final Battle 

The palace shook under the strain. Luna punched in numbers frantically. She was hoping to get the barrier up before too many enemies got through. Artemis ran in to help her. While the notice Jalae had said had helped, it hadn't told them what day, what hour the war would start. In the end, they were still unprepared.

Outside, guards and soldiers ran to meet the enemy head on. Most were humans from many planets, but there were some monsters that the Senshi had not seen before.

"Wind Shaker!" Uranus cried at one of the monsters going for her. The earth under her feet pulsed as the wind gusted around her in a whirlwind. White mist formed streams and flew at the monster. 

It barely scratched it. She gasped and jumped away from one of its claws. 

"Space Star Fly!" Kitenis twirled faster and faster with her arms crossed over her chest as stars swarmed around her. She threw out her hands and they flew and hit the monster. It gave a cry and dissolved into dust. Kitenis stared at the ashes in shock before rushing back into the battle.

"What are those things?" Tacy yelled as she fought and snapped the neck of an enemy soldier.

"I don't know," yelled Kitenis, "but you had better watch your back!"

Saturn whirled around and saw one approaching her. "Saturn Mind Sleep!" She touched her temples with index and pinkie fingers of both hands. She then pointed at the monster with those fingers. White mist and wind erupted at her and its feet. She was hoping she could ease it into a shutdown of the mind, killing it.

It didn't work, only seemed to strengthen it. "Black Ruin!" Ruins flashed behind her and a black wind whirled around it. She held her palm out to it and a beam of purple power hit its chest. It disintegrated, but Tacy knew she was horribly weakened. The mind attack took a lot concentration and power. She turned around to face her new opponents.

"Tornado Storm!" Three tornadoes appeared behind Jupiter and whirled toward the three attacking soldiers. They were swept up into them and the lightning bolts fried their hearts. They fell to the ground, dead. She winced. She didn't like killing. Her love was fighting somewhere here and she just hoped he was all right.

"Pluto Strike Dazzle!" Stones erupted around Jalae's feet and she put her hand on the ground. The rocks exploded with green light and the streams hit the five soldiers and one monster. The soldiers were killed, but the monster managed to survive, though badly injured.

"Pluto Time Block!" she cried as it leaped for her. A shield formed and it hit it. She kicked it in the stomach and it landed on the ground.

"Charon Space Void!" yelled Jalae as she turned once. She then reached down towards her feet then brought her arm up in an arc. She brought it slashing down towards the target, unleashing her attack. It dissolved into dust and Pluto wondered why she hadn't seen these creatures when she had looked in the Time Gate. She shrugged and began to fight her way to the palace, like the other Senshi.

"Love Strike Down!" Stella cried. Thousands upon thousands of light beams made a circle around her about a meter wide, killing the soldiers advancing on her.

Neptune stepped back until her back was against Venus'. "All right?" she called over the noise of chaos.

"Great," was the weary reply. There was only one monster left and it was advancing on the two tired Soldiers. 

"Ready?" yelled Caden. 

"Yeah. Venus Light Beauty Heart!" Hearts of yellow and white flew from her hands and then soared in every direction available. It distracted the monster long enough for Neptune to get in her attack.

"Ocean Rise!" The sound of the ocean permeated the area and Caden put her palms together, as if praying. From each finger, water streamed at the monster. It was wounded, but not much.

Venus, in order to give her friend time, yelled, "Light Laser!" Her tiara glowed and a beam shot from it at the monster. The wound grew larger yet it paid no attention. It began to charge Caden, who was nearly limp with exhaustion.

"Neptune Trident Fly!" In her hands, a trident of water formed. She threw it with all her strength and it pierced the last of the creature's chest. It dissolved and the two Senshi ran to the palace from the fairly clear battlefield. 

Dalit knew the other Soldiers needed some cover to get to Mars, herself, and the princess. "Mercury Stream Flood!" What looked like two streams on either side of the Soldier erupted with water and filled the air around her until it was like a tunnel circling her. She crossed her arms on her chest, fingertips touching her shoulders, and the water flew high into the air, filling the air. It drew the attention of the enemy soldiers. It fell onto them like a blanket, filling their lungs with water.

The Senshi reached the princess, Mars, and Mercury. "We finally made it over here. Where are the King and Queen?"

"I don't know," Dalit cried, typing on her computer frantically. "I can't find them."

"Mother!" Serene screamed.

The Senshi looked over in the middle of the field and saw the Queen of the Moon holding the Ginzuishou, a sword in her stomach. The King stared at his wife in shock. Angered beyond that of words, he attacked the man who had killed his queen. 

They parried for a while, both moving too fast for the Senshi and the princess to see exactly whom it was that he was fighting. With a cry, the King made a lunge for the man's unprotected chest. The blow would have been fatal had it connected.

Instead the man ducked under the strike and thrust another blade into his neck. The King stumbled and fell on his side, next to his wife. The man took the blade from the King's body and stabbed him in his heart.

"Father!" Serene sobbed and broke free of the restraining arms. The man backed away from the bodies and grieving princess, watching them as the princess dropped to her knees. The Senshi bounded to their friend and guarded her. 

"Cirocco!" gasped Taila, seeing the man clearly for the first time. Even though she wasn't surprised he was on the opposite side, it hurt like the pain of death. "How could you do this?" It was then she truly looked at him. He was half in the light and half in the darkness, his blade coated black with blood. His face held a cruel and sad look. The planet behind him was Mars, which she had interpreted to be the Moon. But whenever she thought of the vision, she thought of the Moon. The entire scene in front of her eyes was the exact picture in the fire, with a planet stained with blood.

Cirocco shook his head and held out his hand to her, almost pleading, "Come with me, Taila. I can protect you from her, if you just come with me. She won't hurt you if you are with me. I love you, my dearest fire. Please come with me!"

"And turn traitor? Never. But why? How could you do this? Does our love mean nothing to you?" she cried.

"It does! It means more than I can say and this is why I'm offering you the chance of life!"

Taila felt tears course down her cheeks and she whispered, "No."

Serene stared at the Ginzuishou in her mother's dead hand. Her eyes locked and dazed. Something was calling to her. Something about the crystal. Her hand reached out to it slowly.

The blast from his hand flung the Senshi off their feet. "Rip Tidal Wave!" Caden called out. She threw up her hands and brought then down in an X shape. She watched as tidal wave after tidal wave attacked. 

Cirocco dodged every one and slammed the pommel of the sword into her neck. She hit the ground, stunned with pain. 

"Jupiter Io Strike!" Tiaret cried out as she drew her planet symbol in the air. She grabbed the green glowing glyph and light burst out of it as she hurled it out at her opponent.

"Mariner Ice River!" Dalit hugged her stomach as streams of water flew in all directions from her form. She brought both arms up in arcs and in one fluid movement, pulled them down towards Cirocco.

The attacks swirled around each other, never quite touching. Cirocco could not dodge them both and he hit the ground. He blinked in pain and stood up. Growling, he hurled dark green bolts of lightning at the two Soldiers. Dalit caught a glancing blow in her leg and she collapsed on the ground. Tiaret caught the full blast. She almost stayed on her feet, but in the end, couldn't. The pain pounded in her head so she could barely see.

Before Venus, Uranus, and Pluto could attack, he had them disabled with injuries too bad to recover from quickly. He turned to Mars. "I'm giving you one more chance because I love you. Come with me."

"No."

Serene's fingers were inches from the Ginzuishou and the calling was getting stronger. It was telling she could avenge her family, protect her friends. Her breath caught in her throat. She almost had it in her hand!

He slammed his fist into her stomach and she cried out. She hit him the face with her elbow and kicked his knees. He contained a cry of pain. With a crushing strike, he slammed the flat part of the blade against her skull.

She fell to the ground and stared up at him through her hazy vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Serene reaching for the Ginzuishou. She wouldn't make it if he weren't stopped for at least another second.

Taila gasped with the pain in her skull and whispered, "Are you ready to kill two people with one blow?"

"What do you mean?"

"I wonder what you will say to yourself when you kill not only the one who you love, but your daughter as well."

"What??"

"I'm pregnant with your child."

He stepped back, faltering a little. Serene lunged for the Ginzuishou and the area erupted with light. When it cleared to a bearable level, Serene was standing with the crystal above her head. Her hair waved in a non-existent breeze. Her eyes were hard and angry. 

"This is for my planet and my parents!"

"Goodbye, my love," Taila whispered.

A beam of white light flew from the Ginzuishou and pierced Cirocco's chest. He cried out and dropped onto the ground. Serene lowered her hands until they rested in front of her chest. 

Mars wobbled up and to where Cirocco lay dying. He stared up at her. "You can't stop the coming. Even though our previous attacks, and even this, failed, you cannot stop what is to be the future."

"What previous attacks?" questioned Kitenis behind her.

"The attack against the Queen of the Moon. It failed to get the Queen, but it got the Senshi. Our man was quite successful. It is a pity he is dead."

"The assassination attempt," said a voice quietly. 

The Senshi and Serene whirled to find Luna and Artemis standing there, looking sad. "I thought there was something strange about that attack," Artemis said. 

"Was that—" Stella began.

"Yes, that was the beginning of it all. I may have failed to kill you all, but I have begun the chain reaction that will awaken her! In the afterlife, I shall be rewarded!" He turned to Taila, kneeling next to him. "What will you name the child?"

"Rei."

The sad look returned as his eyes closed. His breath stopped coming and his chest fell and did not rise again. Taila gave a gasp and sobbed. Luna put her arms around the grieving Soldier, comforting her.

"Let's see if there are any survivors," Jalae suggested. 

"Agreed."

Tiaret was in a mad search to find her love. He had said he would fight on the Moon, something she had been desperate to prevent. But he wouldn't listen to her and had come anyway. She found many broken bodies, some of comrades, most of enemies.

Jupiter came upon his body by accident. She tripped over one of the enemy's bodies and found her love's underneath. She quickly moved the body off and put her trembling fingers against his neck. The pulse was there and strong. He was injured and unconscious, but at least he was alive. She sent up a prayer and picked up his body to take to the others.

Serene wandered the battlefield, looking for Ares. Her dress was not suited for things such as this. It was a white, no sleeve sort that was longer than she was tall. It trailed on the ground as she walked. There was a bow with a crescent moon on the front and bows in the back that reached to the end of the dress. Her light purple hair trailed on the ground as well. 

She held the crystal in her hands carefully, should she drop it. It gave off a little bit of light and since it was getting dark, she needed the light to see where she was going. 

Because she was looking down, she found Ares quickly. A sword thrust into his heart showed his cause of death. Serene gave a cry of denial and dropped to her knees.

"Ares! Ares! Please wake up!"

She shook his shoulder, but he did not wake up. It was then she gave into the horrifying realization that he was dead. "I'm sorry you won't know your child. I'm so sorry." 

She bent of his body and cried into his chest. She did not move for the next hour. When her back hurt and she could cry no more, Serene got up and with the Ginzuishou floating in one hand, dragged Ares' body to the others. She could not lift him.

When they saw her, the Senshi hurried to help. When Taila glimpsed her cousin, she felt despair. She had no more tears inside her any longer. She touched his face. _How you loved Serene. I will protect her for you. I love you, cousin_. 

Serene stared at the castle, feeling dead inside. "We will give them a proper burial tomorrow."

Luna wrapped her arms around the new Queen and she looked at the woman in surprise. The compassionate look on her face touched Serene and she cried into her shoulder. 

"No matter what happens, you have his child," the advisor said to both Taila and Serene. "We will stay here with you."

Serene and the Senshi looked at each other. The war, they knew, felt like the beginning. Whatever happened in the future, they still had each other and the children that were to be born. 

The Senshi smiled at the new Queen of the Moon and Serene smiled back, somewhat tremulously. She didn't know if she could do this, but she would give it a try.

"Come on, we have to let the other planets know what happened. And help them out. This is only the beginning of the attacks."

They picked up the people to bury tomorrow and put them in the medical room. Serene stroked Ares' forehead and left the room. When the door closed, the room plunged into darkness. 

The end!


End file.
